Disclosure Day
You can feel when a movie is directed by Steven Spielberg.
There’s curiosity, mystery, confusion, and most of all, wonder. Disclosure Day leans into all four.
With any film focused on extra-terrestrials coming to earth, a sense of enormity permeates the story. Likewise, Disclosure Day picks two individuals - Margaret and Daniel - and widens their sphere of understanding little by little by little. There are a number of supporting good guys and bad guys, but because Margaret and Daniel are working with minimal information, so are we.
I won’t get too much into detail, because when you watch Spielberg, you should just let it wash over you. (If you’re someone who wants answers quickly, you’re likely to be frustrated by the bulk of this movie.)
Disclosure Day has all the touchstones of a Spielberg film - the characters, the childlike wonder, even some comedic elements towards the end - a fun sequence that makes the bad guys look foolish that any kid will LOVE.
Now for the not-so-good news… I adore Close Encounters, ET, even War of the Worlds. I love Alien and Independence Day. I love Spielbergian wonder. Disclosure Day takes WAY too long to get there. The climax is lovely when it lands, but after waiting two hours, you start to wonder (the wrong kind of wonder in this context) if it’s going to be worth it. I do think it’s worth it once, but not worth repeated viewings.
I’d like to hear what young viewers think, especially those who haven’t seen ET or Close Encounters. I don’t have kids, so I can’t be certain, but I worry their attention is going to wander before the good stuff they’ll love.
I loved the philosophy and peripherals to religion; the theory is one I share, in fact. But I wanted more in a 2 hour 25min film.
And I REALLY wanted Williams to reference himself from 1977. He kinda-sorta does once… but it’s not exact. The score is obviously Williams, but it’s not a grand slam Williams score.
I’m interested to see how this one lands with people. I don’t think I’ll be seeing it again, though