Disclosure Day review: ★★★½☆ (3.5/5)
Steven Spielberg returns to sci-fi with Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor, and Colin Firth in a gripping conspiracy thriller about aliens, truth, and trust. Read our full review here.
Rating: 3.5 / 5
Released: June 12, 2026
Director: Steven Spielberg
Cast: Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor, Colin Firth, Eve Hewson, Colman Domingo
There’s a moment in Disclosure Day where you stop thinking about aliens altogether. You’re watching two characters argue about whether the public deserves to know the truth — not about little green men, but about power, control, and who gets to decide what the rest of us can handle. And that’s when you realize this isn’t really a film about outer space at all. It’s about us.
That’s classic Spielberg, and it’s also why Disclosure Day — for all its rough edges — deserves your full attention.
Cybersecurity expert Daniel Kellner (Josh O’Connor) used to work for a shadowy organisation called WARDEX. One day, he decides he’s had enough of the secrecy and goes on the run with his girlfriend Jane (Eve Hewson), carrying a device that could expose decades of hidden evidence about extraterrestrial life. Hot on his heels is his former boss Noah Scanlon (Colin Firth), a man who genuinely believes he’s protecting the world from information it isn’t ready for.
Meanwhile, Kansas meteorologist Margaret Fairchild (Emily Blunt) starts experiencing something she can’t explain. She’s hearing thoughts, sensing emotions, feeling connected to something much bigger than her weather reports. Her path eventually crosses with Daniel’s, and from there the film kicks into high gear.
It’s ambitious. Sometimes messy. But never boring.
Emily Blunt Carries This Film on Her Back
Let’s not bury the lead. Emily Blunt is extraordinary here. Margaret starts out as a normal woman trying to understand what’s happening to her, and by the end she’s become something else entirely — and Blunt makes every step of that journey feel completely believable. There’s a long, unbroken sequence late in the film where she’s the only one on screen, and it’s one of the best things Spielberg has put to camera in years.
Josh O’Connor is equally good. Daniel could’ve easily been a dull, preachy whistleblower type, but O’Connor gives him warmth, nerves, and a kind of stubborn decency that keeps you rooting for him. Colman Domingo adds real weight in a supporting role, and Colin Firth plays Scanlon with the kind of controlled menace that makes the best screen villains so unsettling — he’s not evil, he’s just convinced he’s right. That’s scarier.
Spielberg at 78 Is Still Spielberg
The man can direct. That much is not up for debate. The chase sequences in Disclosure Day are genuinely thrilling. A car-versus-train set piece will have you gripping your armrest, and the visual effects are seamlessly woven into the action rather than plastered over it. John Williams’ score is surprisingly understated this time around — quieter than you’d expect — and it works beautifully, letting the story breathe.
The cinematography also deserves a mention. Rather than constantly pointing the camera skyward, Spielberg keeps the focus on faces and human reactions. It’s a deliberate choice, and it tells you everything about where his head was at while making this film.
Where It Stumbles
The first hour is near-perfect. But around the midpoint, the screenplay starts to crack. There are stretches where characters explain things that would’ve hit harder if simply shown. The final act leans a little too hard into sentiment when the film had been doing something more nuanced. And at nearly 145 minutes, a tighter cut would’ve served the story better.
Some of the film’s most interesting questions also get set aside in the rush toward a hopeful ending.
Should You Watch It?
Yes. Absolutely yes. Disclosure Day isn’t the best Spielberg film ever made, but it’s the kind of blockbuster that actually has something on its mind. It’s about truth, empathy, secrecy, and whether people can still come together when everything pulls them apart. In 2026, those questions don’t feel like sci-fi at all. Go see it on the biggest screen you can find.
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Flickonclick Verdict
Disclosure Day marks a welcome return to science fiction for Steven Spielberg. Anchored by an exceptional Emily Blunt performance and packed with suspense, spectacle, and thought-provoking themes, the film delivers an engaging cinematic experience. While the final act loses some of the sharpness of its opening hour, Spielberg’s trademark sense of wonder ensures that Disclosure Day remains a blockbuster worth watching on the biggest screen possible.