Directed by legendary filmmaker Steven Spielberg, Disclosure Day is a science fiction film inspired by the 2017 The New York Times’ article, “Glowing Auras and ‘Black Money’: The Pentagon’s Mysterious U.F.O. Program”. Starring Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor, Colin Firth, Eve Hewson, and Colman Domingo, Disclosure Day is now causing conspiracy theories in cinemas worldwide.

As a massive government conspiracy unravels, Daniel Kellner races against time to bring about the extraordinary event that will change human history forever: the day of ultimate alien disclosure. Meanwhile, Margaret Fairchild, a weather reporter for Kansas City TV, unexpectedly develops a psychic link with Kellner.

After a strange incident, she begins speaking uncontrollably in an alien-like language by tongue clicking. Guided by Hugo Wakefield, a former Wardex insider turned advocate, Kellner and Fairchild attempt to outrun government officials so they can expose the existence of extraterrestrials to the entire world.

Emily Blunt portrays Margaret Fairchild, a Kansas City TV meteorologist and former journalist, who begins to experience mysterious supernatural-like events, such as fluently speaking different languages and suddenly knowing people’s personal lives, even complete strangers. Because Emily’s character has the most odd behaviour out of the whole cast, which she’s also oblivious to, it makes her performance stand out the most.

She naturally flows between being her usual self to speaking different languages, talking about people’s personal details to them and seeing visions that link her to Daniel Kellner. This film allows Emily to showcase a wide range of her acting ability. Her boyfriend, Jackson, is played by Wyatt Russell.

Josh O’Connor stars as Daniel Kellner, a young cybersecurity expert and whistleblower. Being on the run from Wardex agents, he gets more of the action scenes, whether he’s on foot or trying to evade them in a car. His story also gets more interesting when the movie shows he has a kind of link to Margaret, which causes their paths to eventually cross. His girlfriend, Jane Blankenship, is played by Eve Hewson, who isn’t in the film as much, but also has her own interesting story and sometimes odd behaviour.

Colman Domingo plays Hugo Wakefield, a Wardex defector and advocate for disclosure. Hugo seems to know a lot about what’s going on and is often in contact with Margaret and Daniel, making sure they get to where they need to go, even if it’s not clear where exactly that is, but assures them that their unusual experiences will somehow lead them there. Colman does really well playing a mentor-like role and a guide for the two main characters. His character’s story also becomes more intriguing as more is revealed.

Colin Firth stars as Noah Scanlon, the head of the Wardex corporation and is the main antagonist of the film. Noah knows a lot about the secrets that Daniel is trying to expose to the public and often uses what appears to be alien technology for various tasks.

His performance makes him easily dislikable in the best way, often making things more challenging and complicated for the main characters. Just like the other characters, his role in the story also gets more intriguing as the story progresses.

Director Steven Spielberg does what he does best, bringing his unique vision and eye for detail to the big screen. He is certainly no stranger to science fiction movies, having also directed Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Jurassic Park, A.I. Artificial Intelligence and War of the Worlds.

Disclosure Day stems from his past work by emphasising the conspiracy theories surrounding possible extraterrestrials coming to earth that the government could be hiding from us. It’s hard to go into more detail about the movie without giving away important plot points, but seeing the confusion and panic amongst people adds to the sense of urgency this film creates.

As good as the entire cast is and with Steven Spielberg in the director’s chair, this movie won’t be for everyone. With a runtime of 2 hours and 25 minutes, it can feel like a slow burn, especially because the main interesting parts are mostly in the final act, and everything else leading up to it drags on for far too long.

There are certainly some fun action scenes, such as car chases, and the train scene is the most intense, but seeing so many agents constantly fail to take down a single man who isn’t trained in any of that just feels too far-fetched.

The film is heavy on dialogue, which, of course, all contributes to telling the story, but again, it drags on. Movies exceeding the 2-hour mark can certainly work, especially because they allow more time to elaborate on various plot points, but this film feels like it could’ve cut out 30 minutes to an hour and got to the most interesting parts quicker. It’s the type of movie that’s made for a specific audience, but even amongst them, some might prefer a shorter movie.

When the film finally reaches its climax, the ending is built up to be something exciting and will have the entire audience anticipating what happens next, but then the film abruptly ends. This leaves it up to the audience to interpret what the outcome might have been, but a lot of us will likely be left unsatisfied and feel like we are owed a proper ending after sitting through such a long and dragged-out film. It will also depend on individuals’ expectations going in, as this film is anything but like the Aliens franchise or Independence Day. It is a psychological sci-fi thriller more than an action sci-fi thriller.

Steven Spielberg’s latest project sets up an interesting premise, and even though the film feels dragged out during its 2 hours and 25 minutes runtime, the solid cast helps to keep the audience engaged from beginning to end, with Emily Blunt being the biggest standout. Those who enjoy looking into conspiracy theories about the possibility of aliens visiting Earth and the government covering it up will find plenty to enjoy in Disclosure Day.

Written by: Sammy Hanson