BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — A better name for “Disclosure Day” would be “Disappointment Day.” Director Steven Spielberg has crafted a beautiful looking film designed to pose life-changing questions but the script by David Koepp ranges from meandering to laughable. It has serious problems.
The film starts with a strong premise based on the recurring Spielberg theme of focusing on the evils of corporate America that is only out-villained by the government and military. Daniel Kellner (Josh O’Connor) is a young cybersecurity expert who wants to blow the whistle on a major coverup.
While he is eluding the bad guys, Kansas City weather forecaster Margaret Fairchild (Emily Blunt) is having an intergalactic meltdown on the air. She suddenly can speak multiple languages including a way of speaking based on mathematics. She also has gained the power to slip into the psyche of others.
Looking to stop the pair is Noah Scanlon (Colin Firth), the head of the Wardex corporation. He says the world isn’t ready for a real close encounter of the third kind, but it is obvious he is more motivated by how alien technology has been used to make a fast buck and him dealing with his own demons.
Daniel is joined in his efforts to escape by Jane (Eve Hewsom), a former nun who lost her way. She provides the only real thread in the story that weaves in the big topic issue of religion.
Instead of combining that thread with other smart plotlines, Koepp shifts the film to a semi-action movie. There are a few car chases, a couple of shootouts and numerous escapes. They are fun but instead of being the cause of a pump of adrenalin, they slow the movie’s weak momentum.
The first two acts are tolerable, especially because of a standout performance by Blunt. She is the conduit for the emotional moments of the production and gives each one a depth that far surpasses the pedestrian writing.
Spielberg was banking on his reputation to dazzle any filmgoers who might question any one of his weak situations. Take for example three mysterious alien objects that look like the ends of a futuristic jump rope. They give anyone with an ungloved hand the ability to project their mind, turn on lights or create invisibility. There is little explained in terms of origin, purpose or abilities. They are just necessary props.
The sequence where the evil corporate agents can’t see the invisible objects masked by the alien objects ends up playing like slapstick comedy moments. Those are just a few of the moments that feel out of place here.
Spielberg fell victim to forgetting there is a line between fantasy and farce. He obliterated the line.
So much of “Disclosure Day” is like smoke and mirrors. An exact replica of a person’s childhood home is recreated 30 years later down to a box of broken crayons. It looks good but how such detail was created is something the filmmaker is banking on that no one will question.
Spielberg’s other big mistake is his rehashing of his own material. There are so many references to his “Close Encounters” that the 1977 movie should have had top billing.
Add to that Spielberg can not get past the stereotype look of aliens. Just as he has done in past films, the aliens in “Disclosure Day” look like bobbleheads with googly eyes. And in some cases, the can manipulate how they look and in others they look like leftovers from the debunked Fox “Alien Autopsy” special. How they look is less plot driven and more the whim of the filmmaker.
Where the movie shifts from a serious action fantasy to a comical mess comes in the last act. Any discussion of what Koepp (“Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny”) has written and Spielberg filmed as the conclusion would be a massive spoiler. All that can be said is that the actions taken to give the production its international grand finale moment are ludicrous.
All the advertising for “Disclosure Day” poses the question of how the world population would react if they learned there is other intelligent life in the universe. Humanity’s perception of life, religion and the cosmos would be tested. While that is a great lure for the movie, it is important to disclose that the critical moment comes at the end meaning the better movie of the aftermath was never made.
Movie review
Disclosure Day
Grade: C+
Cast: Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor, Colin Firth, Colman Domingo, Eve Hewson
Director: Steven Spielberg
Rated: PG-13 for violence, action, bloody images, strong language
Running time: 145 minutes.
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