Spielberg's "Disclosure Day" Is a Stunning Sci-Fi Epic Trapped by its Own Beliefs

[the following review contains light spoilers]

In December of 2025, mysterious billboards began popping up all over Los Angeles sporting only a name and a date: "Spielberg, 6.12.26." Film fans and the general public waited with baited breath over this enigmatic new project and it quickly became one of 2026's most anticipated releases. With a star-studded cast, a huge budget, and the direction of the most legendary filmmaker of all time, expectations were high and seats were filling up weeks in advance. But despite a recipe for a masterpiece, the film has been getting much more mixed reviews than anyone could've anticipated. Today we will be examining why. This is Disclosure Day.

Disclosure Day is an alien-based sci-fi feature by none other than the great Steven Spielberg. It follows the story of meteorologist, Margaret Fairchild who finds herself blessed with otherworldly psychic abilities of mysterious extraterrestrial origin. Teaming up with rogue cybersecurity specialist, Daniel Kellner, the two race to reveal the truth to the world: we are not alone, all while being hunted down by US government. It is an action-packed thriller starring A-listers like Emily Blunt, Josh O'Connor, Colman Domingo, Colin Firth, and Eve Hewson. It is the first film Steven Spielberg has directed since 2022's The Fabelmans, featuring a screenplay and score by longtime collaborators David Koepp and John Williams. In other words, Disclosure Day is a film nerd's wet dream.

Disclosure Day is one of the most classically cinematic films I have seen in a long time. There are high stakes, heart-pumping stunts and action sequences, and a mystery that prevails till the very end. For 145 minutes it truly feels like the fate of humanity is on the line and it's easy to get lost in the action. The past decade has seen a renaissance of independent, low-budget films that deal with humble realities and relatable characters, and while I think those have their place in the industry, man did I love seeing a movie that takes so much pride in being, well...a movie. Harry Styles got a lot of flack for saying that his favorite part of Don't Worry, Darling was that it "felt like a movie" but I think I finally understand what he meant.

Without a doubt the corner stone of Disclosure Day is Emily Blunt's performance as Margaret Fairchild. She has such a commanding screen presence and gives so much life to her character, at times speaking pretty impressive Russian and Korean. I will be thoroughly shocked if she is not in the run for some big awards. With the amount of stunts and emotional complexity asked of the cast, I can confidently say there is not a weak performance in the film. A big standout was Eve Hewson as Jane who has the most physically demanding role of all and she delivers. A former nun struggling with her faith in the face of undeniable proof that aliens exist is something I'm surprised hasn't been explored more in film because I could watch a whole feature of just that.

But if Disclosure Day truly is the return of a master it should've been, why are audiences so divided? I find myself to be much softer on this film than most, but that doesn't mean it's flawless by any stretch of the means.

Aliens are nothing new for Hollywood, they're not even new for Steven Spielberg. The subject of extraterrestrial contact and existence has permeated popular media for the better part of a century. Consequentially, it can be hard to make the subject feel fresh. For the majority of the film it feels like Spielberg and company are doing something original. These aliens take the form of Earthly animals like stags, foxes, and cardinals, they speak in math and possess all-knowing knowledge. Surely this will be a different interpretation of aliens than we've seen before in Hollywood. But in the end they turn out to be the stereotypical little grey aliens with the big bulging eyes we've seen a thousand times before. This is the first thing most Americans think of when they hear the word "alien," but after two hours of building up these lifeforms to be something original, I couldn't help but feel disappointed. This is the case because Steven Spielberg actually wholeheartedly believes in these aliens. He believes this is what they look like, that they have visited Earth multiple times, and that the government is hiding information about them from the public. It feels like Spielberg's staunch belief in 2oth century ufology prevented Disclosure Day from fulfilling its utmost potential.

So yes, Disclosure Day is exceptionally well made, a great time at the movies, and proof that Spielberg's still got it but I wish more of this film was dedicated to creativity instead of pushing an agenda. Statistically speaking, it is impossible that humans are the only intelligent life in the universe, but I'm tired of seeing the little greys in every piece of alien media. With all of that being said, I thoroughly enjoyed most of what Disclosure Day had to offer. This weekend, make sure you see it on the biggest screen possible.