Disclosure Day

Screened at Cinemark Century at the River, Rancho Mirage, California

The discourse over Steven Spielberg's latest film Disclosure Day has been fascinating to observe. It almost prevented me from checking it out, even though I usually find it hard to resist Spielberg when he's in his wheelhouse: aliens, UFOs, etc. But some were not just saying that it's his worst, or his worst alien flick, but one of the worst films ever made. Knowing much of his filmography, I felt confident that last proclamation was nearly impossible, and so I continued with my plans to check it out. As suspected, those views are extreme and not close to the truth, which of course is ironic when UFO truthers are, well, obsessed with the truth when it comes to what the government knows or doesn't.

Now, did I like Disclosure Day? "Like" would be a strong word for it. It's far from bad, but it's also far from Spielberg's best. And this subject matter being where you would expect him to shine is what makes this disappointing overall. As usual, he makes an entertaining, fantastically made summer popcorn flick; that has always been in his blood. I guess put it this way: while I've not seen all his films, and those I've seen were not always in the theater, this is the first time I can safely say to others that they DON'T need to see this one in the theater - at home is perfectly fine. Coming from me, that says a fair amount. He just isn't at the top of his game here, even while the loudest critics seem intent at turning him into Ed Wood because it doesn't deliver in the way they expected. Frankly, it seems like only an actual, real life "disclosure" would have satisfied them.

The biggest positive here is Emily Blunt, who really shines in her role of the person who ultimately delivers that disclosure to earth's 8+ billion inhabitants: "you are not alone." And her final line, the final scene of the movie which also seems to be "controversial" amongst the haters for whatever reason, I thought ended things in fantastic fashion, even if not as profound a punch as Spielberg may have wanted. The anger towards it actually proves to me the very reason for its existence, because it's quite likely that how a disclosure of alien life ends up playing out will not be how any of us predict. But you can't pre-judge, and react to a false expectation. Instead, go with some of the best life advice you or anyone can ever hear, perfectly placed here, and sadly falls on far too many deaf ears: LISTEN.