Steven Spielberg’s fascination with extraterrestrial life is well documented, to say the least. It’s a theme he’s been circling since Firelight, the 1964 sci-fi movie that marked Spielberg’s since-disavowed feature film directorial debut at the ripe old age of 17, and one he’s returned to again and again and again.
Six decades and roughly $7.1 billion in accumulated net worth later, Spielberg is approaching the topic from a new angle with Disclosure Day, a propulsive 1970s-style conspiracy thriller centered on cybersecurity expert and whistleblower Daniel Kellner (Josh O’Connor) and Kansas City TV meteorologist Margaret Fairchild (Emily Blunt). The result is pure cinema at its finest, and pure Spielberg: sweeping cinematography, breathless action set pieces, and what may be a career-best performance from Blunt — even when the story’s basic mechanics occasionally strain credibility.
Disclosure Day Reunites Spielberg With Several of His Longtime Collaborators
When you’ve been making movies for as long as Spielberg has, you’re bound to build a trusted roster of go-to collaborators. Disclosure Day feels distinctly Spielbergian because it looks, sounds, and breathes like many of his best films before it. Just how personal this movie is to him feels obvious; Spielberg has essentially assembled an Avengers-level team of best-in-class artisans, starting with screenwriter David Koepp, who previously collaborated with him on Jurassic Park, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and War of the Worlds, Spielberg’s 2005 adaptation of the classic sci-fi novel.
His longtime cinematographer Janusz Kamiński also returns behind the camera. Kamiński, who won Academy Awards for his work on Spielberg’s Schindler’s List and Saving Private Ryan and also shot West Side Story and The Fabelmans, brings the same breathtaking visual command to Disclosure Day. Their work together is as striking as ever, with individual frames practically guaranteed to be blown up and hung on the walls of film buffs everywhere.
For legendary composer John Williams, who created the iconic five-note motif that effectively serves as Close Encounters of the Third Kind‘s trademark and later won his fourth Oscar for scoring Spielberg’s E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Disclosure Day marks an astounding 30th collaboration with Spielberg. There’s no better maestro for crafting the soundscape of a sci-fi epic, and Williams’ work here is characteristically excellent without coming across as a copy-paste of his past scores. It is distinct, emotionally precise, and perfectly calibrated to heighten the excitement of a film that is, at its core, the kind of adventure movie Spielberg does best.
Disclosure Day Is Filled With Action (& Occasionally, Goofy Dialogue)
This is a film that demands to be seen in theaters. Spielberg has gently but firmly suggested audiences see it in IMAX, and honestly, he’s earned the right to make that request. In the most basic and purest sense, Disclosure Day is a truly cinematic film. You’ll want a bucket of popcorn in hand as you watch O’Connor and Blunt leap from a destroyed car onto the train dragging it along — a technically goofy beat, sure, but also a thrilling and expertly crafted piece of stuntwork.
That streak of inherent goofiness is an inevitable flaw of this kind of adventure sci-fi. It worked beautifully in the 1980s, when even the biggest blockbusters often came with a healthy side of schlock, but it can feel more glaring in a modern cinematic landscape that tends to take itself more seriously. A few bits of clunky dialogue slip through, the kind you can tell exist mainly to push the plot forward rather than deepen the characters. Some finesse has clearly been sacrificed in the name of keeping the film as propulsive and compulsively watchable as possible.
Perhaps the biggest casualty of that slightly thin storytelling is Colin Firth’s Noah Scanlon, the head of the Wardex corporation and the film’s de facto antagonist. His villain dialogue occasionally veers into painful stereotype, and his motivations are shaky at best, though Firth still delivers a solid performance with the material he’s given.
Far more nuance and care are afforded to Blunt’s Margaret, who emerges as the film’s most fully realized character and its true heart. Blunt gives a transcendent performance, effectively carrying the movie on her shoulders while making full use of the range that has long defined her as a performer. Her Margaret is by turns hilarious, heartbroken, and formidable as she struggles to make sense of the literally world-changing situation into which she’s been unexpectedly thrust.
Disclosure Day may not be Spielberg’s best film, but it is a stirring reminder of what he still does better than almost anyone: build wonder, suspense, and spectacle on a scale that feels both enormous and deeply human. Even when the film’s plotting falters, its emotional clarity and old-school cinematic sweep keep it firmly aloft. In the end, Disclosure Day earns its place in the upper echelon of Spielberg’s sci-fi work — not because it reinvents his favorite themes, but because it proves he can still make them feel thrillingly alive.
Disclosure Day
- Release Date
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June 12, 2026
- Runtime
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145 Minutes
- Director
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Steven Spielberg
- Writers
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David Koepp, Steven Spielberg
Cast
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Emily Blunt
Margaret Fairchild
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Josh O’Connor
Daniel Kellner
- Emily Blunt is transcendent.
- The cinematography and score are pure cinema.
- The sci-fi adventure format is crafted to make this a propulsive film.
- The dialogue is occasionally schlocky and cringeworthy.
- Certain characters’ motivations are shaky at best.