Intro: Not that I was dying to see this film... but when Steven Spielberg has a new one out, you can't really miss it, or what kind of cinema fanatic are you really?!
Film 2485: "Disclosure Day" (2026), Steven Spielberg
Watched: At the movies
Language: English
Watched with: No one
Thoughts: Oh boy.
I wasn't expecting this movie to be groundbreaking or a masterpiece, but I certainly didn't anticipate just how bored I'd be while watching it. I went by myself, so I was very much focused and present, and I definitely struggled to stay awake during some scenes. Especially at the beginning, when no one really knows what's going on, the story takes so long to actually get going that you begin to wonder what the point of it all really is. And, to be fair, that question still stands.
What I mean is that "Disclosure Day" doesn't seem to know what kind of movie it'd like to be, as it combines so many different elements from different genres: thriller, alien invasion, mystery, action, espionage, sci-fi, and... religious?! The mix is at times so random that it's really hard to take the story seriously. I appreciate the effort to go for something different and not just the seen-it-before alien invasion bit, but I'm not sure venturing into religious territory was the right choice (I'm referring to the moment where Emily Blunt's character reads one person's mind and says something along the lines of, "I don't want to be your religion." I legitimately laughed at that scene).
It's not just this, though. The alien aspect was quite disappointing in the end. Especially the big reveal where Blunt and the alien talk... I don't know, it really ruined the ending for me. I thought there was no need to show the alien, story-wise, and the visual effects really don't deliver. The end result just looks cheap and unconvincing. Speaking of visual effects, I also don't think they were very good throughout the whole film. For a movie that cost $115 million to make—and God knows how much to promote—the end result isn't up to par. The animals, especially, don't look believable and, look, nobody went to the cinema expecting this one to deliver a realistic take on possible human-alien contact, but the overall lack of believability takes you out of the story at times.
Last but not least, I think the story is way too overcrowded. Not just with different narrative elements or plot points, but with characters as well. Too many story arcs to complete, too many side stories we don't really care about. Rarely have I seen a character so obviously utilized as a plot tool as the boyfriend, played by Wyatt Russell: remove him from the story and literally nothing changes.
Anyway, I don't want to only shit on this movie, so here's a short list of the elements I appreciated:
Cast: Emily Blunt, Josh O'Connor, Colin Firth, Eve Hewson, Wyatt Russell, Elizabeth Marvel, Colman Domingo.
Box Office: $239.8 million
Worth a watch?: For Spielberg fans. It's not awful, but it is a confused story filled with too many elements that weaken the overall message. One of the biggest disappointments of 2026 for me.
Awards: /
Key word: Cardinal.
Trailer
#HollywoodCiak
Bengi
Watched: At the movies
Language: English
Watched with: No one
Thoughts: Oh boy.
I wasn't expecting this movie to be groundbreaking or a masterpiece, but I certainly didn't anticipate just how bored I'd be while watching it. I went by myself, so I was very much focused and present, and I definitely struggled to stay awake during some scenes. Especially at the beginning, when no one really knows what's going on, the story takes so long to actually get going that you begin to wonder what the point of it all really is. And, to be fair, that question still stands.
What I mean is that "Disclosure Day" doesn't seem to know what kind of movie it'd like to be, as it combines so many different elements from different genres: thriller, alien invasion, mystery, action, espionage, sci-fi, and... religious?! The mix is at times so random that it's really hard to take the story seriously. I appreciate the effort to go for something different and not just the seen-it-before alien invasion bit, but I'm not sure venturing into religious territory was the right choice (I'm referring to the moment where Emily Blunt's character reads one person's mind and says something along the lines of, "I don't want to be your religion." I legitimately laughed at that scene).
It's not just this, though. The alien aspect was quite disappointing in the end. Especially the big reveal where Blunt and the alien talk... I don't know, it really ruined the ending for me. I thought there was no need to show the alien, story-wise, and the visual effects really don't deliver. The end result just looks cheap and unconvincing. Speaking of visual effects, I also don't think they were very good throughout the whole film. For a movie that cost $115 million to make—and God knows how much to promote—the end result isn't up to par. The animals, especially, don't look believable and, look, nobody went to the cinema expecting this one to deliver a realistic take on possible human-alien contact, but the overall lack of believability takes you out of the story at times.
Last but not least, I think the story is way too overcrowded. Not just with different narrative elements or plot points, but with characters as well. Too many story arcs to complete, too many side stories we don't really care about. Rarely have I seen a character so obviously utilized as a plot tool as the boyfriend, played by Wyatt Russell: remove him from the story and literally nothing changes.
Anyway, I don't want to only shit on this movie, so here's a short list of the elements I appreciated:
- Emily Blunt as a leading lady. I love her. She's clearly talented and can carry a movie on her shoulders with no problem. Her face does look strange, though.
- Steven Spielberg is still a great director. The car chase scene was really good.
- I'm glad to see Josh O'Connor making a splash in Hollywood. He's handsome and so talented, and hopefully he'll stop queerbaiting us in allegedly gay movie romances and either go all in or stop edging us.
- The newsroom setting was interesting, although underdeveloped. I wish they'd explored that a bit more rather than all the government nonsense and the boyfriend crap.
Cast: Emily Blunt, Josh O'Connor, Colin Firth, Eve Hewson, Wyatt Russell, Elizabeth Marvel, Colman Domingo.
Box Office: $239.8 million
Worth a watch?: For Spielberg fans. It's not awful, but it is a confused story filled with too many elements that weaken the overall message. One of the biggest disappointments of 2026 for me.
Awards: /
Key word: Cardinal.
Trailer
#HollywoodCiak
Bengi
