Disclosure Day (2026)

Legendary Oscar-winning director Steven Spielberg (Schindler's List, Saving Private Ryan, ET: The Extra Terrestrial, Close Encounters of the Third Kind) returns to the science fiction genre for the first time in almost twenty years with this mystery thriller focusing on a group of scientists (Josh O'Connor, Oscar-nominee Colman Domingo) who are attempting to find and release classified information from the United States government about the existence of alien life and its presence on our planet.  Standing in their way is a shadowy organization lead by Oscar-winner Colin Firth (The King's Speech, Kingsman, A Single Man) and the key towards revealing the truth MIGHT lie with a Kansas City meterologist (Oscar-nominee Emily Blunt) who begins to communicate with others around her in unexpected ways.  Will the truth be revealed?? Let's find out....

Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon 

Transcript

DISCLOSURE DAY - 2026

Directed by Steven Spielberg

Starring Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor, Colman Domingo, Colin Firth, Eve Hewson, Wyatt Russell, Henry Lloyd-Hughes, Michael Gaston, Gabby Beans, Elliot Villar, Tommy Martinez, Hettienne Park, and Elizabeth Marvel

Genre: Sci-Fi Adventure

As some one who saw AI: Artificial Intelligence on opening day twenty-five years ago with all of the hope in the world....found the final thirty minutes laughable, and left the theater in disgust, and I was VERY trepidatious seeing this! The trailers haven't been great, the overall concept feels kinda twenty fifteen years too late in the era of deep deepfakes and so much AI-driven (hmmm) imagery flooding the interwebs, and the timing just feels OFF. Project Hail Mary already gave me the big life-affirming sci-fi spectacle I had been craving....those are supposed to come out what MAYBE every five years at most?? 😆 And that was just a few months ago....

Beyond that, SPIELBERG....Close Encounters, Jaws, 'Raiders, and Schindler's List are each likely All-Time Top 25 movies for me but each of them came out more than thirty years ago. 🤔 Since then? I liked Saving Private Ryan but disliked the ending, loved Minority Report and hated the ending, kinda dug Lincoln but did not like the ending, etc, etc....pretty much the only film of his which I have enjoyed fully INCLUDING the ending this century was Munich. He's among our greatest living filmmakers and yet I find that he rarely sticks the landing in recent years...

So with expectations firmly managed seeing this, imagine my surprise to realize that possibly my favorite part of the movie WAS actually the ending. 😜 Which is not to say that I disliked the rest of the film, not at all! It's solid, well-made entertainment overall....it's overlong and meanders a bit to the point where I THOUGHT I could see where it was going and was almost dreading it. 🙄 CHEESY....DRAWN-OUT....SILLY....those were the words popping up in my head about the ending as this movie barrels towards its conclusion. I was having fun - honestly most of this film tonally felt like an '80's Amblin family adventure, just entirely populated with full-grown adults. 

Even as I'm increasingly enjoying the ride - I feel like the film's second half is significantly better than its first as the narrative takes some time to find its footing - I just kept thinking, "There's no way he's landing this plane right?" 🤔 But in my opinion, he DOES - Spielberg (with periodic collaborator/writer David Koepp) has delivered a hopeful story while still acknowledging the natural skepticism paired with that hopefulness. It definitely has some of that Close Encounters spirit though it's not in any way a copy (or even homage) of that film. 

No it's not nearly on the level of Close Encounters, it's not even as good as Project Hail Mary. It doesn't even have as much of the natural, tactile vibe of some of his other fantastical blockbusters like ET or Jurassic Park. But it's got its heart in the right place with a collection of characters who bring the right amount of heart, along with some genuinely fun set-pieces along the way. It also helps to have a strong cast delivering strong performances even when saddled with some clunky dialogue. I mean if you're doing a casting a call for actors who can pull off "wide-eyed wonder" right now, I honestly don't think you can do much better than Colman Domingo, Josh O'Connor, and Eve Hewson. :) 

On paper, they're playing characters which might not be completely fleshed out but their performances are spot-on! These folks KNOW that they're in a throwback Amblin adventure and they're making a meal out of it. ;) I'm not completely sure if Oscar-winner Colin Firth was THE best casting choice for his more sinister character (his performance is also more reliant on visual effects than the others) but he kind of grew on me, especially with the inherent cynicism he often brings to so many characters. And that of course leaves BLUNT, whom I will get to in just a bit…. 

Best Needledrop (best song cue or score used throughout runtime of film):

It’s a big Spielberg sci-fi production so GUESS who does the score?  Hey this dude’s 94 at this point and has been doing this since the ‘60’s, so more power to him!  I’m referring to Floral Park, New York’s FAVORITE SON and Five-time Oscar-winner for Fiddler on the Roof, Jaws, Star Wars, ET, and Schindler’s List….yeah The Man Johnny Williams.  And once again even this late into his career, he’s still delivering great work.  It’s a good score, mostly tense but also wondrous at points….it actually sounds more akin to something he did back in the ‘90’s for Oliver Stone, not a bad thing either. (Audio clip) 

It also does have one main recurring which I have to admit that I find quite catchy – we hear snippets of it throughout the film though not really the full thing in all of its glory until towards the end…..is this the BEST thing he’s ever done?  Not particularly but think of just how high a bar this guy has set delivering banger scores for more than fifty years?  It’s elegant and emotional, and it helps bring this story through to its satisfying conclusion.  This track is called, “listen….” (Audio clip) 

Wasted Talent (most under-utilized talent involved with film):

As far as I’m concerned, there are TWO key aspects which truly hold back this film from being the potential genre masterpiece which it had the potential to be.  One of them is the script…..it’s just undercooked overall and kind of messily structured, even though there was some potent themes pretty well-explored.  And it’s written by David Koepp who was also adapted Jurassic Park for screen play – pretty good – and also Spielberg’s War of the Worlds….a film which is enjoyable DESPITE generally bad writing.  His screenplay here is only marginally better….in my humble opinion, Koepp just works better with the other Steven….Berg, one of my favorites, Steven Soderbergh, Koepp has written the screenplays for all of his recent thrillers including previous episodes Presence, Kimi, and Black Bag.  Tight screenplays all, just not the case here.     

But I think the BIGGER issue for this film is….and it honestly just feels like an unforced error too as this is not something I would often say about even most modern Spielberg opuses: mamy of the visual effects are just distractingly bad.  Look as it’s been revealed in the last two trailers for this movie, we DO see aliens in this movie….not always in the way you would expect, but they’re there.  And I’ll just say this: they looked a LOT more convincing in ‘Close Encounters….sorry and that was forty-five years ago but they were backlit in way which just made them seem otherworldly.  Even worse there and I KNOW this has been a big part of every trailer: the presence of animals in this film just looks distractingly FAKE….it’s unfortunate and I’ll just leave it at that. 

Trailer Moment (scene or moment that best describes this movie):

In case it wasn’t already obvious from the trailers, PROBABLY the centerpiece action sequence of this film – and there are a few – is one featuring O’Connor’s Dr. Daniel Kellner, Emily Blunt’s Margaret Fairchild (wow what an ‘80’s throwback name! 😊) driving away in hot pursuit from several goons from Wardex, a government contractor.  It occurs about halfway through and as two of our protagonists have driven up to a train crossing….and there’s a train coming…..and one of the bad guys driving up behind them.  Yeah do the math. (Audio clip) 

It’s a fun, thrilling sequence but honestly, my favorite scene in the whole movie PROBABLY occurs right after as now Daniel and Margaret are – SPOILER ALERT – on the train, you could have guessed that right?  Well what happens as Margaret has kind of lost it by this point is very touching and definitely an acting showcase for Blunt….and I’ll leave it at that. 

MVP (person or people most responsible for the success of this film):

As much as this is Spielberg’s movie, I just don’t think he’s at the top of his game here sorry.  That said, there IS someone involved who is.  As mentioned previously, Emily Blunt plays Margaret Fairchild who is probably the closest this movie comes towards having its own Roy Neary or Elliott at its core. I like Blunt though I'm not always a fan when she tries too hard to hide her Britishness....and she's playing a full-on Midwestern All-American meteorologist here too, uh-oh. 😬 But she pulls it off....so well that she pretty much carries this film through several of its trickiest scenes all the way to the finish line! Her character goes through the full gamut of emotions here, grounding the story whenever necessary but also utilizing her comedic timing to deliver some well-earned laughs at just the right moments. More than any one else on-screen, she also SELLS that ending…..and for delivering what MIGHT be her best career performance, Emily Blunt is the MVP. 

Final Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

Overall, this movie works not only because of the performances but it also happens to play to Spielberg's strengths as a storyteller. It's a compelling story with a nice mix of mystery, wonder, and tension. If I’m being honest, THE CORE MESSAGE of this movie is one which I was completely on-board with…..probably 20+ years ago and sadly that’s just the case any longer.  It’s unfortunate how much has occurred since then to have myself skeptical and maybe that’s just me.  Given that and just the timing (I just can't see the SAME audiences currently devouring the relentless grimness of Obsession flocking to see this), I kinda wish that he directed this 20 to 30 years ago.....but better late than never. 🙂

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And that ends another THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE review!