Disclosure Day
Director: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor, Colin Firth
Genre: Less Terrestrial
Steven Spielberg is famous for many of the classic science-fiction films he’s directed, including Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) and A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001). Alas, Disclosure Day isn’t as clever or as interesting. It doesn’t revolutionise perceptions or thinking and lacks new ideas and concepts.
Disclosure Day is essentially about revelations of alien contact with humans and government cover-ups. But compared to the sci-fi films and some other famous classic Spielberg films such as Jaws (1975), Jurassic Park (1993), Schindler’s List (1993) and Indiana Jones films, Disclosure Day is over complicated. There are many subplots and actions that have no meaning and don’t add value. Lots of them are also contradictory, making other parts of the script confusing.
Close Encounters and Jaws are great examples of perfect, relatively simple films. They start slowly, gradually build up, capture your attention and then have exciting, powerful final scenes.
Unfortunately, Disclosure Day has multiple action scenes that often make no sense, such as speeding, escaping cars, invisible fire trucks and mystery alien metallic-style sticks that do something different every time they are used. Even the references and flashbacks to characters encountering aliens as kids and adults are inconsistent and puzzling.
Mind you, while Disclosure Day is certainly not Spielberg’s best film, like all his films it is interesting. It also makes some obscure references to Close Encounters and other Spielberg films and locations, such as the Inn-Di-Ana Motel. And the aliens are the same third kind!
Rating: Close Encounters of the 2-stars kind
