The Fabelmans saw Spielberg finally address, openly and explicitly, the driving forces of his creative life. That said, it didn’t so much unlock Spielberg’s willingness to get personal in his filmmaking. Rather, it shone a light on just how personal so much of his work has always been. Disclosure Day has him leaning hard into the personal yet again. The feature reveals more about the director and the worries that eat at his heart than almost anything else in his oeuvre. Pitched as a summer blockbuster, it’s really a heart-on-its-sleeve sci-fi thriller, prioritizing its emotional core over high-octane action.

Daniel Kellner (Josh O’Connor), a cybersecurity expert and scientist, has stolen irrefutable proof of the existence of—and our contact with—aliens from WARDEX, a private company in the military-industrial complex. Its intimidating chief, Noah Scanlon (Colin Firth), will do whatever it takes to secure the files and squash Daniel’s mission to share the information worldwide. Meanwhile, Kansas City weather reporter Margaret Fairchild (Emily Blunt) is suddenly and publicly afflicted by an otherworldly force evidently connected to Daniel and his discoveries. The two find themselves inexplicably drawn together, racing across the Midwest and attempting to evade Scanlon.

Disclosure Day sounds like classic Spielberg, right down to the crew list. Like Cap assembling the Avengers, the director has pulled together a team of frequent collaborators, including screenwriter David Koepp (Jurassic Park, War of the Worlds), cinematographer Janusz Kaminski (Saving Private Ryan, The Fabelmans), and, of course, John Williams. But something seems to have been unleashed in Spielberg in a post-Fabelmans world. Koepp, writing in close collaboration with Spielberg, yields a script far more blatantly personal than their previous efforts.

Yes, the film has a handful of classic Spielbergian action sequences, including a truly stellar car chase that blends practical and computer-generated effects in a jaw-dropping manner. But calling Disclosure Day an action flick doesn’t feel right. It’s something a little slower and a lot more philosophical. Koepp and Spielberg are looking at the world and clearly feel frustrated and frightened by what they see. But their work doesn’t radiate nihilism and disgust with humanity like the Ridley Scotts and Michael Hanekes of the world. Instead, Spielberg and Koepp’s faith in and hope for humanity are boundless. That’s the energy Disclosure Day taps into most.

It’s bolder and plainer about its aims, sometimes to its own detriment. When characters launch into monologues about what not being alone in the universe might mean for humanity or even faith in god, they slip into ham-fistedness. Spielberg has always had an earnest streak, but it’s hard to take a couple of these speeches seriously. A little more subtlety and a lot less handholding would have served these moments far better.

Thankfully, the filmmaking we’ve come to not just hope for, but expect from Spielberg, surrounds these moments. Kinetic, sweeping camera movement seamlessly pulls you along for the ride. Characters that, despite the extraordinary circumstances, feel shockingly tangible and grounded.

Firth’s villainous Scanlon, in a delightful departure from his popular persona, feels legitimately terrifying. It’s genuinely exciting to see he has it in him, as his calm line deliveries land like lead pipes against the frightened Daniel. Emily Blunt, however, is the real star of the show, managing to bring a lightness and humor to Margaret without ever downplaying her fear or anxiety. In every scene, it’s as if she’s holding onto seven emotions at once, all of them at the surface, fighting for dominance. You can’t help but care where these characters will land, always the magic of a Spielberg picture. As known for spectacle as he is, he loves people far too much to make them feel secondary.

Cries that this is his best film in 20 years feel both overblown and a little dismissive of both Bridge of Spies (2015) and The Fabelmans (2022). It’s a more honest Spielberg, for better or worse. That’s exciting, no matter where you ultimately land with Disclosure Day. 

June 12 is when Disclosure Day makes first contact with theatres everywhere.

Disclosure Day Trailer: