'Disclosure Day' Review: A Gorgeous, Frustrating Contradiction Saved by Emily Blunt
I'm more interested in what happens after the credits than the journey to get there
Premise: “A whistleblower from a cybersecurity firm and a TV meteorologist are pulled into a vast conspiracy to keep evidence of extraterrestrial encounters from the American public. As the race for proof intensifies, a choice must be made: keep the truth buried, or finally disclose it to the world.”
Director: Steven Spielberg
Screenwriter: David Koepp (story by Steven Spielberg)
Cast: Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor, Colin Firth, Eve Hewson, Colman Domingo, Wyatt Russell
Runtime: 2h 25m
Release Date: June 12, 2026
Trailer:
My Thoughts: Really mixed. So much of this just felt flat out silly on a first watch. On one hand you have the master of the visual image himself working his magic & on the other hand you have goofy story beat after goofy story beat.
This contradiction exists in many elements throughout the film even down to the characters. Colin Firth’s cartoonish villain makes the stakes seem far too low & as much as I love Josh O’Connor, I always felt at arms length from his character. Emily Blunt, on the other hand, is easily the most effective part of the film (I almost wish the whole film could have centered around her). Nice to see that we finally got her back in a real leading lady role! In fact, you could probably make the argument that this is the best performance of her career.
I think I ultimately just don’t have as much faith in humanity as Spielberg does. Maybe that’s the cynic in me? Maybe that’s the generational divide? Either way, I just wish that there was actually more grappling with what this would mean for the world. It’s clear that Spielberg thinks that this would magically end wars and make us all get along again, but Koepp’s screenplay does nothing to really unpack or expand upon that.
Unfortunately, I’d be more interested in what happens 30 minutes after the credits roll than I ever was in the journey that it took to get there.
Who should see this? - If you are an avid Spielberg fan it is a much watch purely since it feels like a culmination of what so many of his alien movies have been building toward. If you aren’t a Spielberg fan. First and foremost, are you human? Second, you can skip this one.