I grew up watching Steven Spielberg’s films. In fact, one of my earliest memories includes watching the 1993 classic “Jurassic Park” at my Pop Pop’s house, scared out of my mind yet amazed by the dinosaurs on the screen. Spielberg continued to astonish me as I grew older, especially with the 2018 release of “Ready Player One” evoking iconic ‘80s and ‘90s pop culture in an epic sci-fi adventure.
In recent years, Spielberg shifted his focus towards heartfelt passion projects, including “The Fabelmans,” a semi-autobiography released in 2022. Eight years after “Ready Player One” was released, Spielberg made his long-awaited return to science fiction with “Disclosure Day,” released on June 12.
“Disclosure Day” follows Daniel (Josh O’Connor), a cybersecurity whistleblower who goes on the run for stealing secrets confirming the existence of extraterrestrial life. He crosses paths with Margaret (Emily Blunt), a meteorologist who is experiencing sudden mind-altering powers like the ability to read minds, and together they join forces to reveal the hidden truth of the world.
The film welcomed me to an exhilarating score from the legendary composer John Williams, the man behind some of Spielberg’s most iconic movie themes like the “Indiana Jones Main Theme.” The presence of William’s signature use of motifs, short musical phrases associated with each character, made the newly released film feel reminiscent of the older Spielberg movies I grew up on.
Alongside the music, the visuals are absolutely breathtaking. Cinematographer Janusz Kamiński incorporated several unique lens flares throughout the film, including a dazzling shot of dozens of people lighting up the screen with their phone flashlights. Kamiński also isn’t afraid to get up close and personal, which packed so much emotion into the characters’ actions.
The movie immediately throws the audience into the action, with Daniel barely escaping from Wardex, the ominous corporation led by Noah Scanlon (Colin Firth), which Daniel used to work for. The company is pursuing him to recover stolen assets that confirm the existence of aliens, along with a cylindrical extraterrestrial device of unknown power.
The film’s first two acts play out like a cat-and-mouse game between Daniel and Wardex. Margaret also catches Wardex’s attention as she unexpectedly speaks in a cryptic alien language while delivering the weather forecast, a sign that she is connected to the extraterrestrial device. Margaret gets a call from Hugo (Colman Domingo), another rogue Wardex employee, that she must find Daniel, as they both play a very important role in revealing the company’s secrets about the existence of extraterrestrial life.
While I originally thought the film would lean more into its extraterrestrial elements, as the genre is science fiction, it came across as more of an action or suspense movie, having frequent high-octane set pieces. At one moment, Daniel holed up in a motel room with his girlfriend to hide from Wardex agents; just five minutes later, Wardex stormed the building, giving the audience no time to catch their breath.
With most directors, this tonal shift would bother me, but the car chases and stealth scenes were so well-executed that I couldn’t help but enjoy them. There may be a fair amount of ‘movie logic’ excusing some of the unrealistic action sequences, such as seeing a car drive straight through a house, but these sequences are so awesome that I couldn’t care less.
Aside from the action, the performances in “Disclosure Day” are top-notch. Blunt gives a career-defining performance, capturing all the heart and emotion that might come with discovering the existence of extraterrestrial life. Domingo has been fantastic in every role I’ve seen him in, so I was slightly disappointed that most of his screen time came from phone conversations with Daniel and Margaret.
Despite the movie centering on uncovering the existence of alien life to society, I think the most powerful moment came from Daniel second-guessing his actions, as his girlfriend warns him that people may not be able to handle the truth. Seeing Daniel have a moment of doubt stuck out to me as very realistic within a very unrealistic film.
Admittedly, I would have liked the story to dive deeper into this, as I thought questioning the protagonists’ motives would have added a much-needed level of nuance to the story. Alongside this, there wasn’t much background on Scanlon or the Wardex corporation’s rationale for secrecy, which made them feel very one-dimensional and almost cartoonish.
Given how central Wardex is to the story, the corporation’s lack of identity made its actions feel largely uninspired. Even the standoff moments between the agents and the protagonists that were meant to convey high tension felt extremely dull, and I was never worried that Daniel’s team wouldn’t achieve their goal.
Despite my issues with the narrative, I had a great time watching “Disclosure Day” in theaters. Spielberg’s movie captures so much emotion that it deserves to be seen on the biggest screen possible.
