Film Review: ‘Disclosure Day’ Spielberg Fails to Recapture His Old Magic
Photo Credit: Disclosure Day via Universal Pictures
Review by Karlee Lyons
Aliens are real and the world deserves to know! This is the basic premise of Steven Spielberg's most recent film Disclosure Day. The film follows Daniel, a cybersecurity expert (played by Josh O'Connor) and Margaret, a Kansas City weather anchor (played by Emily Blunt) experiencing unexplainable phenomena as the two join forces to provide full disclosure about the government hiding Alien life. A simple enough (and possibly more real than we know) premise being taken on by well established talent. Should be a fun time! So why exactly did I leave this film feeling so conflicted? On one hand I enjoyed the basics. There's 2 very solid action sequences, one of which involves a train (which I will now think about every time I cross tracks). The third act is tense, the film features a star-studded cast (though I have more to say on that later) and as previously mentioned, a fun premise. All ingredients in a recipe for a good movie but ultimately it falls flat on its face. Why is that?
Photo Credit: Disclosure Day via Universal Pictures
There are a few small problems that pile up to create a tonally uneven film, there are some logic leaps, like the magic wand plot device that somehow does whatever is needed in a scene. Characters sneak around in a way in which they logically should have been caught by the paper thin villains. It’s typical 80s movie cliches and tropes, which makes it feel particularly dated, and it's that which leads me to the most unfortunate problem this movie faces. Steve Spielberg's 80’s charm doesn't work in the modern lens. Take the scene where [SLIGHT SPOILERS] Daniel and Margaret escape capture. We see Margaret use her newfound powers as she is suddenly able to morph into the villains' loved ones and goad them into moving out of the way, letting the two through. It's laughable. Sure, it may have worked if this movie had any real charm, like that of Spielberg's past work in something like E.T, but it simply doesn't here. This film feels factory made, inauthentic bids for emotion. I feel the film tries too hard to be modern, trying to provide a positive outlook on the times while still trying to maintain the 80’s camp feeling that Spielberg does so well. It has a hard time balancing both. Spielberg is like an old dog unable to learn new tricks which is truly unfortunate to have to say about a man of his talent. The movie starts as a modern spy thriller only to morph into a sci-fi flick by the end. The uneven tone completely kills anything this movie had going for it within the first two acts.
That being said, the third act is genuinely solid. I wish the whole film was able to maintain the weight that the third act had. Primarily carried by Courtney Grace's performance, act three features the actual disclosure. Grace carries all of the emotion on her shoulders, her performance as a newscaster discovering in real time with the world that aliens exist is absolutely show stealing and closes us out with a much-needed flourish. It's painful to say that her performance was the only one I connected with seeing as this cast is filled with talented performers. Emily Blunt and Josh O'Connor in the leading roles both feel flat. They lack the chemistry and connection that the core of the story rests upon. Which i hate to see after O'Connor gave one of my favorite performances of last year as father Judd in ‘Knives Out: Wake Up Dead Man’. The performances outside of Courtney Grace are nothing to write home about.
I feel this is a film where tremendous talent delivers subpar results on every level. Passable but not perfect, Disclosure Day can be described as this - Close encounters of the mediocre kind.