‘Disclosure Day’ Movie Review – Is It Worth Watching?

Disclosure Day is a grand sci-fi action adventure thriller from the mind of Steven Spielberg, channelling the 90s obsession with aliens and escalating it to an Independence Day or a Transformers (without the robots) scale. It successfully creates an epic, world-altering feel with a man-on-the-run thriller focused on a few key characters. Spielberg is renowned for films that grapple with alien life, most notably E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, and he leans into this direction once more to tell a story about government cover-ups of extraterrestrial life-forms and the attempts to quash any of this information from being leaked.

Centred primarily on Daniel and Margaret, a young man and a weather reporter, their fates intertwine as they realise there’s something much bigger going on beyond their comprehension. Possessing extrasensory abilities that are tapped into after being dormant, the duo’s adventure continues to upscale as government agencies pursue them in an attempt to stop the information from reaching the public. Titled Disclosure Day, the film speaks to the eventual unveiling of top-secret information which, while hinted at, has never been completely made available in the hopes of keeping a lid on things and making the world think it’s alone.

Powered by two solid performances up front, with Josh O’Connor and Emily Blunt doing most of the heavy lifting, they are counterbalanced by the likes of Colin Firth as the primary antagonist trying to gain control of the situation. As a man-on-the-run thriller, Disclosure Day features some imaginative sequences involving ways to locate the fugitives through alien technology, as well as attempts to circumvent their next steps as the surveillance state tries to clamp down. The fugitives find more cunning ways to stay a step ahead of the law, ultimately discovering the power of the aliens in a message for humanity that serves as a timeless reminder of what’s truly important.

While the grand, high-end feel of the global action-adventure is apparent, the alien themes do seem dated, and the film feels like a relic based on its preoccupation with extraterrestrials. Unfortunately, when it comes to autopsies, big-eyed aliens, abductions, and government cover-ups, all of these story elements have been done ad nauseam. While it may be fairly fresh for newer audiences who have not been exposed to this 90s pop-culture overload, it does present some challenges when it comes to the film’s tone.

Spielberg often walks the tightrope between believability and magic, and unfortunately, in the case of Disclosure Day, it tends to falter into the realm of implausibility. This overstep lands the film in comedic terrain where it frequently feels like its own spoof. Having such massive overarching concepts alongside borderline over-the-top scenes results in a rather unwieldy blockbuster – not unlike Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

“Cloudy with a chance of aliens… you heard me.”

While it has the calibre and intentionality to make you want to believe in its confidence, it becomes rather flimsy at times with its attempts to latch onto a precarious calibration of the unreal versus the real. Even with an 80/20 balance, the clichés of alien activity and life-forms keep it firmly in the realm of unintended comedy. As earnest as Josh O’Connor and Emily Blunt are, there are just too many moments that are overcooked.

The government crack squad seem like the Spanish Inquisition, arriving in their black cars at various intervals without any kind of texture to make them more than a two-dimensional set of agents who appear at will. While Colin Firth is a fine actor, it’s quite funny to see him exerting his full influence and attempts at control remotely. There’s definitely a Minority Report undertone as they attempt to use futuristic technology as a pre-crime initiative.

Josh O’Connor’s character feels a little bit like a Sam Witwicky figure, and while Emily Blunt’s character has a saviour element with her miraculous wonders, it’s easy to see why a spoof comedy writing team would be all over this film. As much as it aspires to be a prestige-level Spielberg film, it still feels dated in terms of its revelations. High-end as it is in terms of looks, it flirts with the ridiculous too often to be taken seriously. You can appreciate the lengths to which the filmmakers go in order to entertain, operating on a level that is becoming rarer to see these days, but the net result is not quite as serious or prestigious as some would have you believe.

Unfortunately, in terms of the illusion, there’s just too much to distract one from truly suspending disbelief, which makes it a case of watching with some reservation. As a popcorn blockbuster, you could do worse, and it’s interesting to see this nostalgic 90s-style thriller as something of a resurgence. Yet, as earnest as it tries to be, the emperor has no clothes, making the film unintentionally funny when it’s trying hardest to keep a straight face. It leans heavily into the flash and spectacle of films like Transformers but unfortunately lacks the actual alien robots to back it up, instead trying to latch onto a message of connection that ultimately stands as one of its best features.

The bottom line: Unwieldy