josh o’connor

With the release of his 35th movie, it’s obvious that Steven Spileberg is not just a good story-teller, he’s a GREAT story-teller. The suspenseful tale he spins this time is Disclosure Day about the U.S. government’s attempt to keep the truth about UFOs secret. Scripted by David Koepp from Steven Spielberg’s story, it revolves around a nefarious conspiracy, cloaked in sci-fi mystery, tracing back to E.T. and Close Encounters of a Third Kind. And it’s a timely topic since former President Obama said he believes aliens are real, prompting President Trump to accuse him of revealing “classified information.”

Full “disclosure”, I didn’t understand exactly what was going on for the first half of the movie. Spielberg was so busy putting all his food for thought on the story board buffet, including an epic train scene that may have been added just to please the action fans, that it was difficult to navigate. Once the backstory was delivered in the second half, the classic Spielberg empathy came through and actually left the audience wanting more.

This film fits well as a third cinematic statement from the director of Close Encounters and E.T., and offers eye-popping visuals and committed performances enough to make it well worthy of carrying the Steven Spielberg name. Though it’s a bit slow in getting started after an action-heavy first scene, the film has a decidedly 70s espionage on-the-run thriller sensibility. It builds suspense and action. There are very exciting set pieces. Also, even if you’re from Virginia where it’s the state bird, you’ll never look the same way at a cardinal.