Disclosure Day film review: Simmering self-importance
Spielberg goes back to the alien well but with less potency and a plot that should have more to it
After turning the lens on his own family in The Fabelmans, Steven Spielberg returns to the sci-fi genre he’s so closely associated with, albeit with less impressive but still reliably entertaining results. Disclosure Day reunites the director with screenwriting collaborator David Koepp (Jurassic Park, War Of The Worlds), working from a story conceived by Spielberg himself, inspired by a 2017 New York Times article about the Pentagon’s UFO programme.
Set against a backdrop of mounting US and Russian tensions, the film follows Josh O’Connor’s cybersecurity whistleblower Daniel and Emily Blunt’s psychically gifted weatherwoman Margaret, as they attempt to expose the existence of aliens. In doing so, they come up against Colin Firth’s shadowy Noah, head of Wardex, the company behind an extraterrestrial cover-up, while the pair are assisted by Colman Domingo’s corporate defector Hugo. Despite the film’s simmering sense of self-importance, there’s very little plot beyond the basic premise. It’s old-fashioned, slickly shot Hollywood shenanigans for the most part, with Spielberg creating irresistible intrigue at the outset, maintaining tension and throwing in a smattering of exciting set-pieces. But the characterisation is frustratingly thin, surprises are few, and events ultimately feel underwhelming.
This earnestly intentioned, fervently performed effort is in some ways the anti-Independence Day. On one hand, it has to satisfy as a flying-by-the-seat-of-its-pants blockbuster; on the other, it sees itself as more thoughtful than that. Portraying humanity as its own worst enemy, Disclosure Day asks us to see beyond our differences and rediscover our common empathy. It’s quintessential Spielberg (think ET meets Minority Report) but largely lacks the magic of his best films.
Disclosure Day is in cinemas now.