Steven Spielberg phones home and phones it in with Disclosure Day

David Koepp, a longtime collaborator of Spielberg, wrote Disclosure Day from Spielberg’s story idea, and the two cover new ground across the filmmaker’s search for life and meaning in the universe. In addition to the always thrilling car chases set to John Williams’ grand score and the hide-and-seek suspense of characters trying to evade capture, Disclosure Day wrestles with the idea of what humans would actually do if alien life were announced on live TV on a given night. Would religion die? Would chaos reign? Daniel, who wants the world to know, and his girlfriend Jane, who’s afraid of the consequences, briefly argue over the ethical implications of releasing such information, but it gets clunky, a nervous loop of handwringing that leads nowhere. Jane and Daniel make for an unconvincing couple (there’s practically no backstory there), with Jane merely functioning as a stand-in for religion—specifically Catholicism, as seen through her ties to a convent, her recitation of Latin prayers, and even stigmata imagery. 

Beyond faith and science, Spielberg is also revisiting many of the themes from his earlier movies about aliens and dystopian futures. Both Daniel and Margaret survived a childhood trauma they rarely speak about and barely remember, but that has left a mark on them, consciously and subconsciously. As in Close Encounters, Daniel finds his purpose in the universe: to tell the truth. Like in E.T., Margaret holds onto the wonder of her new abilities—even if she’s somewhat terrified of them—especially her talent to connect with and understand strangers. The threat of a civilization-wide meltdown in the style of War Of The Worlds is not coming from outsiders but from ourselves. It’s a threat that looms on the edges of the screen, held there by Jane’s worries and Noah’s Minority Report-like organization that has spies and surveillance everywhere. Although Wardex is not directly the government, Spielberg’s distrust of authority figures is alive and well in Disclosure Day, which makes Noah Scanlon a great obsessive James Bond-style villain, a role Firth takes to with a fixed, angry stare and clenched jaw. As Daniel, O’Connor works overtime to play an action hero who’s sympathetic but passionate enough to push forward on his impossible mission. But Blunt steals the show from all of them, bringing many of the film’s few moments of levity and vacillating between determined and frightened with how much her life has changed in just a few hours. 

Behind the scenes, Disclosure Day is a reunion tour for one of Hollywood’s most beloved bands. Spielberg, Koepp, and two of Spielberg’s longest collaborators, Williams and cinematographer Janusz Kamiński, are back together for what may be their last rodeo. Like Cher, Williams’ farewell tour keeps stretching on and on, but who’s complaining? His scores are tailormade for Spielberg’s high-octane action sequences and tender, emotional scenes. Like Spielberg, it sounds like Williams is referencing some of his previous works, like the chase music from E.T. or the pensive sense of wonder from Close Encounters. Kamiński creates a gloomy world of secrecy and desperation, where daylight streams in through windows like searchlights, as if the hidden characters were always under threat of being discovered and their mission foiled. 

After so many decades of thought-provoking blockbusters, large-scale epics, thrillers that push the audience to the edge of their seats, and heartwrenching dramas, Spielberg has raised the bar so high for so long that not every one of his new films may be a masterpiece in his filmography (and the less said about Ready Player One, the better). While Disclosure Day doesn’t live up to the high standards he’s set, it’s still a thrill ride, thumbing its nose at authority and begging its audience for more empathy, not less. Even if not all the pieces snap flawlessly into place, Disclosure Day is a reminder of how much magic is still left up Spielberg’s sleeve, how much excitement he and Koepp can bring to a story about government conspiracy, how easily Kamiński can make an audience nervous with the smallest lens flare, and how exhilarating it feels to listen to new Williams score. But because this creative team has hit so many homers before, even a mild showing can feel like a letdown. 

Director: Steven Spielberg
Writer: Steven Spielberg, David Koepp
Starring: Josh O’Connor, Emily Blunt, Colin Firth, Colman Domingo
Release Date: June 12, 2026