Disclosure Day
Directed by Steve Spielberg
Cinemark North Haven
June 11, 2026
The name Steven Spielberg has been synonymous with the phrase “summer blockbuster” since he pretty much created that phenomenon with his 1975 film “Jaws.” Over 50 years later, with a legendary career encompassing nearly every type of genre, he has returned with another big summer movie focusing on one of his most frequented themes –- aliens and our reactions to them — in the new release “Disclosure Day.”
The question is: Will modern moviegoers still be interested in what this director has to say about them?
Spielberg’s affinity for films about aliens and their interactions with humans – most notably 1982’s “ET: The Extra-Terrestrial” and 1978’s “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” – has led to big box office numbers and some of the most memorable characters and scenes in film history. In this latest film, he takes a new route: The aliens have been here and known about for over 70 years, used and abused by secret forces aligned with the U.S. government who are now on the brink of being exposed. This approach lends itself to a deeper discussion of connection, contradiction, and, at its core, empathy.
The story begins with cybersecurity specialist Daniel Kellner (played as a super-nervous nice guy by Josh O’Connor) making off with a backpack full of evidence taken while at his job at the nefarious Wardex Corporation in Virginia. The evidence shows how extraterrestrial beings have been around since Roswell, their bodies and technology abused for the company and government’s use. Kellner is part of a bigger crew of former Wardex employees led by coworker Hugo Wakefield (played with gentle strength and grace by Coleman Domingo) who are planning to release all of the information to the rest of the world — a world that just happens to be teetering on the brink of World War Three.
Meanwhile, over in Kansas City, Missouri, meteorologist Margaret Fairchild (Emily Blunt running through the gamut of emotions) gets a visit from a cardinal that awakens a number of new skills. She can now read people minds as well as being able to speak multiple languages, including one that sounds like a series of noises to everyone else except Daniel. That happens on live TV and catches the attention of Wardex as well. A search ensues for Margaret along with the search for Daniel who has escaped with his girlfriend, former nun Jane Blakenship.
Most of the first 90 minutes of the film is heavy on information that sets up the hunt for Daniel, Jane, and Margaret as well as the hunt itself. There are lots of car chases and a tense encounter with not one but two speeding trains. In the midst of it all is the ongoing discovery of who (and what) Daniel and Margaret really are, what their connection is, and how Wardex and its CEO Noah Scanlon (played with bite and bark by Colin Firth) want to manipulate it.
There is also conversation and contemplation via Jane (played with weariness and wonder by Eve Hewson) as to whether or not God has a role in all of these machinations, and if the world will be able to handle the information Daniel and his crew are so eager to disclose.
Interestingly enough, a story in the news recently — about how the U.S. government was going to release files about extraterrestrial sightings — did not seem to gather much steam. Are we humans in 2026 simply not interested anymore? Or are we all resigned to the fact that they have been here and it is not as surprising as it once may have been? Perhaps we all so inundated with information on a daily basis that it is now just another story instead of the wonderous revelation it may have once been. The answer may not be so simple at all.
What this film excels at emphasizing the idea of empathy as more than an idea. Empathy becomes an actual power to be utilized, the one common denominator that transcends humankind to include all living beings, even those not of this earth. Spielberg still knows how to capture your eye and your heart. He has his old friend John Williams serving up another banger of a score to raise it all up several notches.
The final 45 minutes of the film are edge-of-your-seat old-school tear-jerker smile-inducing cinema. This reporter left wishing she had someone to talk about it with, but also hoping that there would be younger people who may have never seen a Spielberg summer blockbuster in theaters buying their tickets and getting ready to feel what so many of us have felt before when we first saw “E.T.” “Jurassic Park,” “Close Encounters,” and “Indiana Jones” on the big screen.
That being said, don’t go in expecting what was, which can be difficult with a legend like Spielberg. Instead, go in with a yearning for another perspective. You’re most likely not alone in hoping we are all not alone.
“Disclosure Day” is playing at Cinemark North Haven starting today. Check their website for dates and times.
