Film Review: Disclosure Day

Disclosure Day
Director: Steven Spielberg
Amblin Entertainment
In Theaters: 06.12.2026

We’re all familiar with the adage to “live every day like it’s your last.” None of us actually do it, mind you, but we appreciate the concept of making the most of each moment. Meanwhile, Hollywood’s most celebrated living filmmaker has entered a phase of his career based on approaching every movie he makes as if it could be his last, telling the stories that matter most to him and pulling out all the stops. When Disclosure Day was first announced, it was hard not to question what was left for Steven Spielberg to do with the subject of aliens, but this wrap-up to one of the biggest recurring themes of his career could have been called Closure Day.

As the world stands on the brink of war, a far-reaching government cover-up begins to unravel, and two unlikely strangers find their lives inexplicably intertwined: Daniel Kellner (Josh O’Connor, Challengers, Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery) is a gifted cybersecurity specialist turned whistleblower who has stolen a powerful, top secret device and a treasure trove of classified records. Margaret Fairchild (Emily Blunt, Mary Poppins Returns, Oppenheimer), is a television meteorologist in Kansas City who finds herself speaking in tongues on live television and suddenly filled with empathic knowledge of everyone she meets. Pursued by powerful forces and racing against time, the two come together carrying secrets that could transform humanity’s understanding of its place in the universe. They are relentlessly pursued by Noah Scanlon (Colin Firth, The King’s Speech, Kingsman: The Secret Service) of the mysterious Wardex Corporation, who will do anything to silence them. Their journey leads to a moment destined to redefine history forever — the long-awaited day of global disclosure of the truth that we are not alone in the universe.

There’s a level of care and inspiration to Disclosure Day that echoes the excitement of the director’s early work, combined with the maturity of his peak as a serious artist in the 90s, and the combination of shot selection, imagery and staging is utterly dazzling without ever overpowering the story. Screenwriter David Koepp (War of the Worlds, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull) has delivered for Spielberg before, crafting witty, entertaining scripts that are enjoyable despite the occasional lapse in logic, but none of them are a truly great script. Even Jurassic Park, one of my favorite films of all time, has more than a few moments that feel guided by a “good enough for this kind of movie” philosophy. Working from an original story by Spielberg, however, Koepp delivers career-best work here. The screenplay is smart, funny, focused and surprisingly deep, elevating what could have been pure spectacle into something far more substantial. 

While Disclosure Day doesn’t try to match the childlike wonder of E.T., it tackles loneliness, connection and the need to believe in something bigger from a grown-up perspective that’s deeply personal and soul-searching. A truly devoted Spielberg fan will see not only echoes of Close Encounters of the Third Kind, but a look inward that recalls The Fabelmans. As E.T. followed a stand-in for the young Spielberg interacting with aliens, here the protagonists evoke the director’s parents, with Daniel Kellner, the laser focused mathematician mirroring Spielberg’s father, and the emotionally driven Margaret, his mother. One of the most gripping moments of action can easily be seen as a big-screen nod to the very first film Spielberg made as a child.

Blunt’s performance is a tour de force of comedy and drama as Margaret suddenly finds herself able to speak languages she never learned and read people’s secrets and emotions. It’s a delicate balancing act that could have come out as far too showy in the wrong hands. O’Connor’s weary yet driven Daniel is one of the most soft-spoken and sad heroes we’ve ever seen in a Spielberg film, but O’Connor makes him both gripping and relatable. Eve Hewson (Bad Sisters, Flora and Son) is a standout as Daniel’s girlfriend, Jane, a target of Scanlon’s manipulations who is grappling with questions of faith. Firth makes for an imposing antagonist, hell-bent on keeping the truth from coming out and convinced that by doing so, he is protecting humankind.

Disclosure Day works on every level and ranks among Spielberg’s modern classics, combining the awe and excitement of his greatest summer blockbusters with the intelligence and emotional weight of his most serious work. It’s the director’s strongest effort in that vein since Minority Report, and a potent reminder that when it comes to cinematic events, there is Spielberg — and then there is everyone else. —Patrick Gibbs

Read more film reviews by Patrick Gibbs:
Film Review: Masters of the Universe
Film Review: Power Ballad