Disclosure Day Review: Steven Spielberg's 2026 Summer Blockbuster Is A Triumph

In case you forgot, Steven Spielberg is the master of summer blockbusters — but don't fret. "Disclosure Day" will remind you that Spielberg is an unparalleled visionary, just in case it somehow slipped your mind.

Spielberg's first film since 2022's "The Fabelmans," and first alien-centered movie since 2005's "War of the Worlds" (technically, 2008's "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" is his most recent alien movie, but let's not count that), "Disclosure Day" is a wholly entertaining film from a confident auteur at the top of his game. (Early reactions from critics already confirmed this.) Spielberg knows every filmmaking trick in the book, and he pulls all of them out and then some during "Disclosure Day" — but it's certainly not a film that relies on gimmicks. Spielberg's earnestness and curious mind sells this movie, but it's also a resounding success thanks to its astounding central performances.

Let's back up a bit! I won't be spoiling any major plot beats of "Disclosure Day" here, so don't worry (and go into this movie as blind as possible to give yourself the ideal experience). The movie weaves together five major characters: local weatherwoman Margaret Fairchild (Emily Blunt), whistleblower and math prodigy Daniel Kellner (Josh O'Connor), evil CEO Noah Scanlon (Colin Firth), kindly mentor Hugo Wakefield (Colman Domingo), and Daniel's girlfriend Jane Blankenship (Eve Scanlon), who was briefly a nun before struggling with her faith. The way their paths intertwine is, honestly, most of the fun ... but here's why "Disclosure Day" works so beautifully from beginning to end, without getting into any huge plot details.

Let's get one quick thing out of the way: "Disclosure Day" is an alien movie, but one of the great things about a director like Steven Spielberg is that he doesn't give the game away right up front. We don't actually see the aliens for the majority of the run time, which means that Spielberg wisely gives himself carte blanche to do basically anything he wants with the rest of the film. So what does he choose? Wisely, Spielberg decides to focus on human fallibility and error — and our vulnerability to manipulation — right up until the denouement of "Disclosure Day."

Still, there's no denying that "Disclosure Day" takes cues from non-Spielberg movies like "Arrival" and even the 2026 box office smash "Project Hail Mary." Both "Arrival" and "Project Hail Mary" center around communication and language — the former almost exclusively and the latter as a fun plot device — and "Disclosure Day" definitely has some fun with language early in the film when Emily Blunt's Margaret makes eye contact with a bird and immediately starts monologuing in fluent Russian. (Her boyfriend Jackson, played winningly by Wyatt Russell, is a bit underutilized throughout the movie ... but he's appropriately baffled at Margaret's initial outbursts.) From there, we get car chases, nail-biting tension, and an extraordinary action setpiece involving a car shoved onto train tracks.

What "Disclosure Day" really shares with those two particular films, though, is a radical optimism about what would actually happen if humans came into contact with extraterrestrial beings. In "Arrival," they deliver vital messages about fate and time. In "Project Hail Mary," they help us save the universe. In "Disclosure Day," when we learn the truth about the aliens, it's beautiful — and devastating.

In an age where movies painstakingly explain plot beats, assuming the audiences aren't paying attention or won't get it — including some recent hits like "The Devil Wears Prada 2" – "Disclosure Day" feels like a breath of fresh air. The most remarkable and, frankly, bold thing about Steven Spielberg's newest great summer blockbuster is that it trusts the audience right away. Instead of providing clunky exposition dumps, the film throws you headfirst into the action alongside Margaret, Daniel, Jane, Hugo, and Noah, and lets us figure it out; any third-act exposition merely confirms what we already figured out instead of spoon-feeding it to us up front. It's tough that, in 2026, this approach to filmmaking is novel. Thankfully, Spielberg knows a thing or two about filmmaking.

This review cannot end without pointing out that the performances in "Disclosure Day" are nothing short of extraordinary, even if it is four non-Americans (save for Colman Domingo) affecting their best Yankee accents. Emily Blunt, unsurprisingly, is the standout here; she's given the most material to work with and does so beautifully. Colman Domingo's character is little more than the voice of reason, but he sells it anyway, and even Colin Firth's villainous Noah gets some gorgeous moments. Josh O'Connor is reliably great under pressure, but Eve Hewson really shines in some darker moments as Jane — ones you'll have to see for yourself to fully appreciate.

If I have one nit to pick here, it's that the big climactic ending of "Disclosure Day" wraps up a little too abruptly and neatly, but honestly? It's worth it for the emotional payoff of what we do get.

"Disclosure Day" is in theaters now.