‘Discolsure Day’ is Spielberg at the top of his game

[Rock Fist Way Up]

Steven Spielberg believes.

Because of course he does, right? The legendary director (Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T., War of the Worlds….Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull?) wants the world to join him in that belief.

Aliens are real and the government has known about them for years. Disclosure Day may not be a true reveal of the truth — sorry, guys — but after 50 years in the business, Spielberg has crafted how he thinks it should go and in the process may have delivered the first real Oscar contender but also one of the most polarizing and divisive film of his career.

Wait, scratch that — I forgot about Project Hail Mary , which up until now had been the emotional front runner, but Disclosure Day is the first film this year that feels like a legitimate Best Picture contender.

Spielbergs 35th feature film feels like the work of a filmmaker who has absolutely nothing left to prove and yet somehow continues to raise the entertainment bar. At this point in his career, Spielberg could easily coast on reputation. Instead, he delivers one of the most riveting, mature, and emotionally satisfying films of the last decade. It’s a masterclass in tension, storytelling, and restraint from one of cinema’s greatest living directors.

If you have the patience. And for some, that may be a big IF. This isn’t Indiana Jones action and adventure. It’s not a Close Encounters odyssey. This is smart, adult filmmaking, an engrossing slow-burn mystery that rewards patience, respects intelligence, and builds to a payoff that will leave audiences in their seats long after the credits started rolling…if you’re willing to listen.

Disclosure Day is best experienced with as little advance knowledge as possible and stars Josh O’Connor (Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery) and Emily Blunt (Oppenheimer, Edge of Tomorrow) as two strangers pulled together by fate with the goal of exposing the truth about extra-terrestrials. Set mostly in Kansas City, Missouri (woo hoo!!), the film gradually reveals itself to be something much larger, much smarter, and far more emotionally devastating than expected.

The performances are exceptional across the board. Josh O’Connor gives what should immediately enter the Best Actor conversation. He grounds the film’s increasingly extraordinary events with believable humanity. Emily Blunt (Best Supporting Actress for Oppenheimer) may be even better. Her performance is funny, vulnerable, intelligent, and deeply moving. It may be some of her best career-best work. Colin Firth and Colman Domingo provide outstanding support, while Spielberg once again demonstrates his unmatched ability to assemble ensembles that feel inhabited rather than cast.

Spielberg and screenwriter David Koepp (Jurassic Park), who churned out a record 42 freaking drafts of the script, both understand something many modern filmmakers have forgotten: mystery isn’t about withholding information. It’s about revealing information at precisely the right moment. Steven Spielberg is the G.O.A.T. and it’s on full display here — and Koepp’s screenplay is exceptional. It blends conspiracy thriller, science fiction, mystery, and emotional drama without ever losing control of the narrative. Every conversation feels purposeful. Every revelation matters. Unlike so many modern “mystery box” movies that exist solely to tease answers, Disclosure Day actually earns its conclusions.

And the payoff is spectacular. When the film finally reveals its hand, it doesn’t simply surprise you, it recontextualizes everything that came before. The final act lands with the kind of emotional and intellectual impact that has become increasingly rare in mainstream filmmaking. It’s the sort of ending that lingers long after the credits roll, inviting conversation rather than merely delivering answers.

Visually, the film is stunning. Working once again with longtime collaborator Janusz Kamiński, Spielberg crafts sequences that are thrilling cartoony. Wait — actually, there are a few animals running around that look…unfinished? — but otherwise, it’s pretty good. There are multiple set pieces here that rank among the director’s best in years, including a breathtaking train sequence that had my audience holding its collective breath.

But spectacle isn’t what lingers. What lingers is the emotion. At its core, Disclosure Day is about truth, empathy, and humanity’s relationship with the unknown. Those themes could easily become heavy-handed in lesser hands. Spielberg treats them with confidence and maturity. The result is a film that asks big questions while never losing sight of the people asking them.

Perhaps my favorite thing about Disclosure Day is that it feels unapologetically adult. This is a movie for people who want to think. For people who want to feel. For people who miss the days when major studios regularly released ambitious, intelligent films that trusted audiences to keep up.

It’s a mystery. It’s a thriller. It’s science fiction. It’s a drama. Most importantly, it’s Spielberg operating at a level most filmmakers spend their careers chasing. It’s like…if Spielberg directed an X-Files movie. How awesome would that be?

Will it be the best movie of 2026? I mean…The Odyssey and Dune part 3, Digger, Werwulf, The Social Reckoning — man what a great year for movies!! — are all coming soon to a theatre near you, but right now, it has definitely set the bar.

I also feel like it’s important to understand this is NOT an actual “Disclosure”. It is in fact a movie. And a pretty freaking good one.

Tagged as: 2026, Colin Firth, Colman Domingo, David Koepp, Disclosure Day, Emily Blunt, Josh O'Connor, Movie Review, steven spielberg