Disclosure Day is a little too out there (even by alien standards)
Disclosure Day is Steven Spielberg’s return to sci-fi. It’s a tale of reckoning and discovery for the world that finds out that not only are they not alone, but the visitors are already here. Everything will be uncovered, and nothing will be the same.
Dr. Daniel Kellner and his girlfriend Jane Blankenship are targets for the government's shadow corporation Wardex, after stealing alien technology and files. At the same time, meteorologist Margaret Fairchild encounters a cardinal that triggers her dormant psychic abilities. She speaks in a mysterious language during her live weather report broadcast. It gets the attention of Wardex, who identify the alien language. Now the three are wanted by federal authorities for the secrets they carry. The only way out for them is to go deeper into truth.
The story is written by master screenwriter David Koepp, who wrote the script for Jurassic Park. It shows, as the movie has a complex plot filled with intrigue and a deep emotional resonance that connects with audiences. This script is about empathy within a world shrouded in secrecy. It questions whether it’s more empathetic to hide aliens from the world than just revealing them. I believe this was an interesting source for the film’s conflict to bubble up.
Credit: Universal Pictures
Daniel shows Jane the horrors of what the government and Wardex have been up to. He believes it’s not up to him to decide if it’s good or bad for people. Only that they deserve to know. Jane is concerned about the ramifications this can have on people’s faith when once they see these aliens as potential deities. It puts a wedge between the couple while they run and hide from agents. This added a dichotomy to Jane, whose life depends on Daniel’s success, but deep down she sympathizes with their pursuers beliefs. It started making me question what matters most, faith or truth. I found this to be a great character dynamic that added more uncertainty to whether the protagonists are justified in their actions.
The action in the film was exhilarating, but became so ludicrous that it seemed impossible despite taking place in a world full of aliens; specifically the car chase scenes.
The first is when Daniel is sneaking around a house surrounded by federal agents to save Jane. He drives one of the officers' cars into the house, then drives it out the other side. This threw off the intensity of the scene by turning the solution into a plot convenience. The second car chase where Daniel and Margaret are being pushed by Boyd onto a train has the same issues. Their car gets dragged by the train with Boyd following after while firing shots; a chaotic setup with no sight of salvation for the protagonist. They escape by jumping onto the train as Boyd dislodges his cartridge. Even though the pair were in an inescapable situation, their solution made it feel like they weren’t really in much danger. Neither of these scenes, along with their surrounding action, is bad, but the way the characters survive them made it so deflating.
The music was fantastic in this movie. It was scored by John Williams, and it is obvious throughout by his ambient and orchestral sound. It reminded me of the music from E.T. at points which tingled my nostalgia for that movie. He understands how to make a scene bombastic and ethereal.
I unfortunately didn’t enjoy this movie as a whole. It felt like its theme of empathy being the solution to solve this crisis wasn’t warranted enough. I don’t believe that if people were shown this information they would react so uniformly. If this movie had come out in the 80s, its message would have resonated more with audiences, but today it contradicts what we have experienced.
Disclosure Day is an exploration into one of life’s biggest questions. What does it mean to not be alone? It juggles the answer to this question with unsatisfying action and underdeveloped solutions. It still has all the makings of a great movie with its directing, writing, acting, and music. By the end, it feels optimistically naive. See this movie if you are a fan of Spielberg, but if you are a sci-fi fan, lower your expectations.
6 alien rods out of 10.
Credit: Universal Pictures
