Tom's Guide Verdict: 'Disclosure Day'
- Rating: 4.5/5 stars
- Verdict: Steven Spielberg's latest sci-fi movie about aliens might not be his best, but it's in the conversation. There are minor flaws throughout the movie, but the final act is a jaw-dropping showstopper that erases them from your mind. "Disclosure Day" is an instant Best Picture contender and might be the best movie of 2026 so far.
- Where to watch: See "Disclosure Day" in theaters now
"Disclosure Day" isn't just one of the biggest summer movies to watch this year; it's been one of my most anticipated movies of 2026 since the year began. A Steven Spielberg science fiction film was always going to have movie lovers salivating, but when you throw in that this is just Spielberg's third movie of the decade, the anticipation was cranked up to eleven.
Of course, such hype for a blockbuster epic can lead to disappointment of epic proportions. So it's almost with a sense of relief when I say that this movie doesn't just meet its blockbuster expectations, it exceeds them. It might be Spielberg's best movie since 2002, and it creates a sense of wonder and cinematic majesty that evokes the best of his works, from "E.T." to "Jurassic Park."
That's not to say that the movie is flawless. There's more than a handful of nitpicks I have with the film, from its portrayal of U.S. (and specifically D.C.-area) geography to Spielberg's (or perhaps screenwriter David Koepp's) tendency to add just one thing too many in a scene, and an enemy whose foot soldiers are on par with stormtroopers when it comes to letting their targets slip away in plain sight. But the final act of this movie eradicates those qualms from your mind in a moment of masterful visual storytelling that perhaps only Spielberg can produce.
'Disclosure Day' is a reminder of why Spielberg is a master
If you're totally unfamiliar with "Disclosure Day," the story is surprisingly straightforward. Daniel Kellner (Josh O'Connor) works for Wardex and, at the behest of his old boss (Colman Domingo), has turned whistleblower to reveal to the world that aliens exist. To do that, he has to find Margaret (Emily Blunt), a Kansas City meteoroligist that just spoke in an alien language on live TV and might be the final piece of the puzzle.
But he's not the only one hunting down Margaret. Noah Scanlan (Colin Firth) is the head of Wardex, and he wants to silence them all before the world can learn they're not alone. To do this, he uses alien technology that helps transform this science fiction movie into a true action thriller.
This is where "Disclosure Day" excels. The story is simple enough, and the individual performances are good, with Blunt and Firth stealing the most scenes. But Spielberg crafts incredible moments of tension in a cross-country chase as Wardex hunts down first Daniel and his girlfriend Jane (Eve Hewson), then Daniel and Margaret. There are subtle jump-scares and twists, and there are action set pieces involving multiple trains; it truly lives up to the blockbuster billing.
Perhaps most importantly, though, this movie ends with its strongest moment. In the end, we do learn whether or not aliens are real, and the world learns with us. This is all set against the backdrop of World War III, which is unnecessarily thrown in and forgotten in an instant by both the people of this world and us in the moment of the big reveal.
I was almost moved to tears by how this climactic moment was delivered, and not just because it's cinematically impressive. This movie, if you let it, gets at the core of the human condition. Parts of this movie are cynical, parts are overly optimistic, but when the credits roll, you can't help but think that perhaps this work of fiction isn't so far off from our real world of corrupt governments and private enterprises alike. And I think that's what moved me as much as the more explicit on-screen storytelling of Spielberg.
Verdict: This movie is a Best Picture contender
Ultimately, I think I have enough small nitpicks with this movie that I don't quite rate it as the best movie of the year so far. I struggled to put it above "Project Hail Mary," which lacks a showstopper like the final act of "Disclosure Day," but also lacks its accumulation of minor flaws.
That said, this is undeniably a Best Picture contender. It's an instant classic and might be Spielberg's best work since 2002, when he gave us "Minority Report" and "Catch Me If You Can." It's not as good as "E.T." or Jurassic Park," but it manages similar levels of emotional manipulation and stunning audiovisual storytelling.
So I implore you: See this movie in theaters. It's made for the cinema, and I'm not sure it will land with as much impact when watched at home. That said, I'm eagerly awaiting a chance to rewatch it, and might have to make a trip back to the theater myself to see it one more time.
"Disclosure Day" is in theaters now
