Has time finally caught Steven Spielberg? It saddens me more than I can say to realize there never be another great film from, arguably, the best director the world has ever produced. Even now, Disclosure Day, this silly alien chase masquerading as a blockbuster is better than at least half of studio films. But recognizing such is like recognizing that Babe Ruth hit just 22 home runs in 1934 or that Michael Jordan only shot 42% from the field in his first season for the Wizards. Legendary talent declines with age. It does. Perhaps the curve is more forgiving for artists, but right now, Steven Spielberg is reminding me more of Clint Eastwood, at present, or Francis Ford Coppola, at present, than the Steven Spielberg who made Raiders of the Lost Ark.
For a guy who said he’d never make a sequel to E.T., Disclosure Day looks a lot like a sequel to E.T. Not quite a love letter to alien life forms, Disclosure Day marks the moment in history that evidence of aliens on Earth is given to the public.
With anything alien, my first questions are always: “Why here? Why now?” Why is it aliens always seem to be going after rural American bumpkins? What’s the appeal? Why not Europe or Asia or the Outback? And why now? The Earth has existed for billions of years? Why would they come today? Doesn’t make any sense. Seriously.
Those aren’t the best questions to ask. The better questions are: “Given evidence of aliens, how did the government hide such for all this time?” and “Why did the government hide such for all this time?”
And now we are ready to discuss Disclosure Day, which starts right in with government meanie Noah Scanlon (Colin Firth) holding a woman hostage in exchange for information stolen by Dr. Daniel Kellner (Josh O’Connor). They are both employees of Wardex, a secret arm of the government. Dr. Kellner has taken both alien tech and evidence that he wants to disclose to the world. Aliens are for all of us, doncha know?
Meanwhile, in another film, Margaret Fairchild (Emily Blunt) is a meteorologist, proving herself up to the intense demands of local TV weather newscasting by doing the “I love hail” dance on camera. *sigh* The next morning, a cardinal -the bird kind- visits Margaret in person, suddenly she knows what everybody around her is thinking, can manipulate minds so people see lost family members, and suddenly speaks Russian, Korean. and Alien. She proceeds to speak Alien on camera. It takes a skilled actress to make all of this believable and Emily is up to the challenge.
Before you know it, everybody in the film is after Daniel, but Margaret and Noah have the inside track because of alien connections. So this becomes an intense chase movie, including a “hopping a train while a bad guy shoots at you” scene. I kinda wish such grand ado were all for something truly important. I mean, yeah, proof of alien life is big, but is it “government sparing no expenses” big? Is it “people should die for this” big? To my way of thinking, the answer is: Maybe a few decades ago. Maybe when E.T. was a thing. Now? Every single American has bigger things to worry about.
Steven Spielberg’s dramatic filmmaking skill continues to exist, but I can’t help thinking that the Steven Spielberg of the 1980s would have found something more meaningful and/or exciting in this adventure. The climax of Disclosure Day -the actual
disclosure- is meant to be a world breaking experience, but we viewers know deep down that unless alien proof comes with alien invasion, too, the populace that gave Trump his power will take their cues from him. And Trump, as we know, wouldn’t give a flying fuck about aliens unless they presented him with an award. Hence, the film is exciting, but lame all at once.
One thing that bugs me to pieces about this film [*SPOILERS*] is that Spielberg gets the news really, really wrong. The climax of this piece is all about getting word to the world that aliens exist AND WE HAVE PROOF! Here’s thing – first of all, during a Donald Trump presidency, proof of alien life would never be the biggest story of the week. I’m sorry, but it wouldn’t. When Trump is your president, there’s always a bigger story tied to his corruption, aggression, incivility, or stupidity. Always. There are weeks in a Trump presidency in which proof of alien life wouldn’t even be a top five story.
Second, and more important (even if you don’t buy the first), news studios don’t operate the way they used to. You might get, say, half the networks to break existing coverage for a must-see story, but all of them? No.Freaking.Way. Not in this atmosphere; in the very least, all of the RW media would check with higher-ups before even admitting there is bigger news. There are millions of people in this country who do not know Donald Trump is felon or appears in the Epstein files 38,000 times. Billionaire news overlords have made sure these notices never get to their viewers. Is evidence of alien existence news? Hell, yes. Would Fox let you know about it without checking how it will play with their people first? HAHAHAHAHA. The latest Superman had the same problem of completely misjudging the media. That film got away with it because the film about Superman first, disclosure second. This film is Disclosure Day.
There once was a doctor named Dan
Who stole alien intel from THE MAN
His boss took up chase
Intending to erase
Any evidence; was that really the plan?
Rated PG-13, 145 Minutes
Director: Steven Spielberg
Writer: David Koepp, Steven Spielberg
Genre: Hide-and-seek with alien intel
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Spielberg’s promo team
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: “We’ve had six years of President Trump; you think aliens are a big deal?!”
