If you found out we weren't alone, if someone showed you, proved it to you, would that frighten you? (from IMDb)

Steven Spielberg is obviously one of the most beloved filmmakers of our time. From giving us Jurassic Park, Jaws, E.T. and Indiana Jones, to successfully tackling dramatic and historical films, too, like Lincoln, The Post, and others, Spielberg has proven to be a versatile and gifted director. With Disclosure Day, Spielberg deviates from historical and musical efforts to return to one of genres that helped shape his career: science fiction.

Of course, Spielberg might intend his most recent film, Disclosure Day, to be a little less fiction than the general public might think. The filmmaker has recently become vocal about his belief that aliens do indeed exist and have visited our planet, making his new film a lot less just mere fantastical storytelling. Spielberg wrote the film's story himself, with the screenplay by frequent collaborator David Koepp -- who did the screenplay for Jurassic Park and Jurassic Park: The Lost World, as well as non-Spielberg films like Mission: Impossible and Spider-Man (but we also have him to blame for writing the 2005 War of the Worlds remake, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and last year's Jurassic World: Rebirth). This makes the film feel more like a more personal project for Spielberg. And with him being vocal about his belief in aliens, moviegoers can take the message of Disclosure Day however they like.

Disclosure Day begins with the story already underway. And with John Williams scoring his 30th Spielberg film, it's no wonder there's almost an Indiana Jones feel to the proceedings. It's a bold way to start the film, but it wastes no time getting things moving. And we're also instantly dropped into the action. But keep in mind - this is not an action film. Yes, there are some thrilling and tense scenes with action, but it's more circumstantial and story-driven - like Minority Report - than, say, an Indiana Jones film. (Like, the action is more chase-based than intentional fighting.) Weird and science-fiction-style happenings slowly unfold, too, keeping the mystery going for much of the film, slowly peeling layers back along the journey. Josh O'Connor plays a scientist named Daniel who has discovered the truth about alien life on earth and wants to share it with the world. When the film opens, he's trying to get back his girlfriend, Jane, played by Eve Hewson, who was kidnapped by an organization trying to keep the existence of alien life in our universe a secret. Meanwhile, Emily Blunt plays a weatherwoman named Margaret who suddenly starts experiencing bizarre and unexplainable behavior, like being able to speak foreign languages, or see into people's lives and learn unknowable things just by looking at them. Actually, Blunt delivers the performance of her career here, making it one of the best things about this film. I'd be shocked if she doesn't at least get nominated for her performance. Lastly, Colin Firth plays Scanlon, the head of the organization that is trying to keep the existence of alien life hidden, and he does a solid job in the role, too. I kind of wish they'd fleshed his character out a bit more, but he delivers a strong performance as the film's antagonist regardless.

The story definitely approaches faith from an interesting angle. One of the main characters is a former nun who still maintains a level of faith and devotion to God, but clearly doesn't believe in it strongly enough to stay in His service. But this doesn't stop her from seeking the counsel of a superior. More than once, the character looks to her former teacher for faith guidance. What's surprising is the nun basically tells her former pupil that the existence of alien life wouldn't affect her faith in Jesus, and even quotes Genesis and God's creation of mankind to support this. While it may feel cynical to have a main character be a former woman of the cloth, Spielberg seems to be a little more delicate with how he handles it (than most modern filmmakers might). The movie poses big, meaty questions, so handling it in a way that sparks discussion instead of alienation (no pun intended), is definitely an achievement.

I gotta say, it really was a treat to see Steven Spielberg return to this kind of movie. It feels like a movie he might have made 20 years ago, but maybe with some of the more dramatic topical discussions of his later movies factored in. From the opening sequence where we first meet Daniel and Jane, I was reminded of how special Spielberg is as a filmmaker. And later, I noticed he was using "oners" - unedited, extended one-take shots - like the one that follows Margaret into work at the TV station. The camera just follows the movement along like a dance; it's brilliant. To be fair, I think if you watch enough movies and television, it's easier to get jaded toward quality filmmaking and artistry, but it's moments like these that prove that Spielberg has yet to lose his touch.

At the same time, I was surprised to see some reliance on CG that didn't land quite as well. For instance, whenever there's an animal in the film, my brain instantly went "That's CGI" instead of "That's a fox," which is really unfortunate. Honestly? I hope it's more a me thing than an everyone thing, but I was definitely disappointed to see that. A couple other action moments also had some iffy effects, but they did pretty well tying the practical and digital together regardless.

The content of Disclosure Day is definitely PG-13, but really only for a few scenes and some language. Thankfully, language isn't pervasive, but Blunt does use the "F" word twice during the film. The first time, she kind of quietly trails off with it as she leaves the screen, while the second time she says it very clearly and more pronounced. There are less than 10 uses of the "S" word, but it feels infrequent, and a character does use "g*dd*mn" once. There are also roughly 20 uses of "Oh my G-d" as an exclamation, mostly from Blunt as she reacts to things. There is no sexual content, but there is one direct reference. Daniel asks Jane if she's a nun and she defensively reminds him that they've had sex. It's kind of an awkward line to just throw out there, but it's probably mostly meant to be played for laughs to ease the film's tension. There is some violence, but only two scenes are a bit graphic in nature. The first is when a person closes their fist with a crucifix necklace in their palm and we hear it pierce their hand as they react in pain. The camera cuts away for a beat, and when it cuts back, we see the person's hand covered in blood with it dripping onto the floor. We then see a closeup of the wound, and later see it again as a knife point is pressed into it briefly (we see the person's reaction more than the impact). There's a scene of implied torture where we see a creature in distress, but the camera mostly focuses on the reaction of a person watching it than the actual mistreatment of the creature. There is some other action violence, but it's not graphic and not lethal.

Disclosure Day is hardly the best we've seen from Steven Spielberg, but it's still pretty solid and a really welcome return to form for the celebrated director. I'd honestly pretty much lost faith in Spielberg in recent years. He never stopped being a good and capable filmmaker; I just stopped finding his movies to be the kind you would want to watch over and over. Thankfully, Disclosure Day is a really good sci-fi drama that should give moviegoers something to discuss for some time.

Side note: As you can imagine, there are no post credits scenes.

- John DiBiase (reviewed: 6/9/26)