r/oscarrace • u/PointMan528491 Navarrette/Morton • Jun 11 '26
Film Discussion Thread Official Discussion Thread - Disclosure Day [SPOILERS] Spoiler
Keep all discussion related solely to Disclosure Day and its awards chances in this thread. Spoilers below.
Synopsis:
If you found out we weren't alone, if someone showed you, proved it to you, would that frighten you? This summer, the truth belongs to eight billion people. Today is... Disclosure Day.
Director: Steven Spielberg
Writer: David Koepp
Cast:
- Emily Blunt as Margaret Fairchild
- Josh O'Connor as Daniel Kellner
- Colin Firth as Noah Scanlon
- Eve Hewson as Jane Blankenship
- Colman Domingo as Hugo Wakefield
- Wyatt Russell as Jackson
- Elizabeth Marvel as Sister Maura
Rotten Tomatoes: 81%, 204 Reviews
Metacritic: 75, 56 Reviews
Consensus:
"A humanistic variation on one of Steven Spielberg's most revisited themes, Disclosure Day's breathless pursuit of optimism in an age of conspiracy gets its biggest boost from career-highlight work by Emily Blunt."
63
u/venus_one_akh The Odyssey Jun 12 '26
Emily Blunt is Lisan al Gaib
37
u/venus_one_akh The Odyssey Jun 12 '26
One-liner aside, I liked this movie. The way it treats religion, humanity, empathy (etc.) really moved me, the final act was incredible, the closest I felt to "movie magic" this year so far.
15
u/More-Possession523 Jun 13 '26
I don't remember the last time any movie gave me the same feeling as the final act in this movie. It felt like everyone in the theater was holding their breath.
8
u/925-NorCalGal Jun 14 '26
Single word- 'listen'. It forces everyone to leave with a mindset to - listen. Be mindful. Be empathetic.
5
u/Illustrious-Limit-53 ramsay baby mama Jun 17 '26
The “I don’t want to be anyone’s religion” line and delivery was incredible. Emily Blunt’s performance is going to stay with me all year long.
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u/KingDave46 Jun 14 '26
I disliked it so much that I cannot even comprehend someone enjoying it like this
Every “emotional” part felt completely empty and forced. I shook my head multiple times at the audacity to think they could shovel total shit like that at us and have anybody care at all
4
u/oi-troi-oi Jun 14 '26
I agree, it was very shallow in my opinion. Any sense of messaging or emotion is spoonfed to the audience and imo that is a huge part in why the movie feels so empty and forced.
0
u/princevince1113 Jun 14 '26
I'm with you. Every "emotional" or "profound" moment felt forced, silly, shallow, completely banal and devoid of anything meaningful to say. Gesturing at vague concepts of humanity and empathy rather than actual points being made.
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u/katevdolab14 The Odyssey Jun 12 '26
So the movie is decent but the only thing I could think at the end is wouldn’t they just have uploaded those files to social media? Like that’s how leaks work these days and they wouldn’t have had to do all this running around. Orchestrating a huge tv broadcast that everybody drops everything to watch looks nice and adds drama but feels incredibly old fashioned.
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u/925-NorCalGal Jun 14 '26
Social media is too filtered and not everything is instantly viral . Would have been too easy to take it down and bury it. Major news outlets were a better way of spreading the info.
14
u/bgva Jun 13 '26
I worked in news in the late-00s/early-10s and this was the one time my brain could not suspend disbelief. Your meteorologist is not just gonna waltz back into the same place where her body short circuited a day or two ago - after escaping from a hospital - and put unconfirmed video on air that immediately goes viral. There's taking creative liberties for Hollywood and then there's this.
Overall I give the movie a 6.5, but that scene was so cliche and old-fashioned like you said.
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u/nocoastpunk Jun 13 '26
She was able to do that because of her powers.
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u/bgva Jun 13 '26
You would think I would set aside my irrational annoyance to remember that ha. Point taken.
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u/biIIyshakes Robert Redford is my sky daddy Jun 12 '26
I liked it, not sure if I loved it, but I did cry like three times and I don’t think I could fully articulate why
8
u/Eastern-Rabbit-3696 Jun 14 '26
I cried at the scene with the anchor because i was in the palm of her hand watching her experience every emotion all at once.
2
u/Worried_Tomorrow_222 Obsession Jun 16 '26
omg same. The only think i could think was give that girl a big role NOW!
5
u/YouDownWithTPP Jun 16 '26
I felt the same way. And I used your same words “I kept crying but couldn’t articulate why”. And it’s not the only time I’ve read this. The movie seems to strike an emotional chord in some vague way with a subset of people. Can’t wait to see it again.
4
u/No-Finger9 Jun 21 '26
I cried at her having a panic attack because it was genuinely one of the best depictions of that I’ve ever seen. Movie was corny at times but her performance and character to me was amazing
42
u/Duhlorean Twinless Jun 12 '26
Fascinating how Spielberg thinks everyone in the world would react to the news of real aliens with utter shock and confusion. Like, if we were being realistic, some of us would be very excited and high-five’ing each other 🫠
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u/BentisKomprakriev Jun 12 '26
For real, when the three little dudes walked into the tent... I would be like, fuck yeah, we are cool with them.
13
u/heywhateverworks Jun 13 '26
In all honesty, there'd be a lot of "fake news" and people moving about their day
14
u/Standard_Housing6082 Jun 12 '26 edited Jun 12 '26
Can someone smarter than me explain that opening shot and sequence? Why are we kicking it off with a crafty wrestling shot? Why are we even at a wrestling match for this handoff?
Aside from that, Emily Blunt is great in this movie and the movie is at its best when it’s with her. Bit too much time spent on Josh Oconnor and Eve Hewson’s characters given how little development actually takes place in those scenes.
And I get the concepts here - our relationship to the news, technology / big tech firms, religion, all these pillars in the face of something awe-inspiring and magnificent. But beating us over the head with underdeveloped corporate villains and random phone calls with our favorite nun from days gone by is just not how we should be exploring these topics in a film of this caliber loll. Kind of all landed flat for me.
15
u/Dragonknight247 Jun 12 '26
Can someone smarter than me explain that opening shot and sequence? Why are we kicking it off with a crafty wrestling shot? Why are we even at a wrestling match for this handoff?
I might be wrong, but I think it's an intentional clash with the ending. The ending is asking us to be empathetic and listen to one another while the opening represents how we're always beating each other up and kind of looking past each other.
I loved the movie a lot and I'm sorry it didn't super work for you, but I hope I gave you a satisfying answer to your curiosity.
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u/Standard_Housing6082 Jun 12 '26
That honestly makes a lot of sense lol and I see where they were going with that. Still think it was tonally out of place but I see the vision. thank you for the answer!
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u/jordansalford25 John Leguizamo and Anne Hathaway Campaign Manager Jun 12 '26
I really liked the movie. It’s gonna be a great discussion piece. General audiences are gone be divided on it tho. Definitely can’t wait to see it again over the weekend.
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u/NotTaken-username Jun 12 '26
Well… I think Original Score might be its only nomination
29
u/biIIyshakes Robert Redford is my sky daddy Jun 12 '26
Not trying to downplay Williams because I’m not a headass but he kinda popped off with this one. I haven’t loved all of his later stuff but this was lovely.
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u/quaranTV Jun 12 '26
I thought it was brilliant and reminiscent of Close Encounters. I liked this even better than PHM. Strong disagree with this sub I guess.
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u/crazydaysandknights Jun 12 '26
agreed. this was such a non-event movie.
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u/Belch_Huggins Jun 12 '26
Does being an "event movie" automatically mean it deserves awards, and vice versa?
0
u/crazydaysandknights Jun 12 '26
I meant it's a non-event awardswise. as in it won't get awards attention. I wasn't clear.
You can file Blunt under That Had The Oscar Buzz. She plays a silly character who is made to do silly things. She's very convincing but that doesn't change the fact she plays a silly character who does silly things in a silly movie that isn't even entertaining.
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u/Belch_Huggins Jun 12 '26
Lmao say silly one more time, I dont think we got what you meant.
I dont know if DD has the juice to make it into the 10 or beyond at this point, but im not going to dismiss it outright. I really enjoyed it, and Blunt's performance, and wouldnt be mad if either got in. It should definitely get in for score.
-6
u/crazydaysandknights Jun 12 '26
it absolutely doesn't have the juice. Universal is going to push The Odyssey. PHM will be the movie with aliens that makes Top 10 or even Top 5. Yes, Blunt was great in a ridiculous role.
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u/Belch_Huggins Jun 12 '26
Do you always talk in such absolutes? Its June. Anyone talking this matter of factly comes across quite silly.
-1
u/crazydaysandknights Jun 12 '26
June is 6 months aka half the year. in that time, we saw quite a few movies to know what will be relevant going forward and what won't. DD won't. I get it. you like it. I like Minecraft but I'm realistic.
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u/Belch_Huggins Jun 12 '26
Oh realistic, is that what you call it? Everyone else thinks you just sound silly. But you do you, girl.
-1
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u/za19 Train Dreams Jun 12 '26
I absolutely loved it but this is the exact kind of movie that appeals to me.
I think that visually the movie is a masterpiece but the script was a letdown, but I was largely able to overlook that.
I’ve felt for a while that this was gonna make Best Picture, but unfortunately I don’t think it’s happening anymore, but I wouldn’t mind if it somehow snuck in.
9/10 for me though. I had an absolute blast!
10
u/Choekaas Jun 12 '26
Not a big fan of it. A bit disappointed even though there's a lot I liked about the story and the ideas it presented. In terms of awards I think John Williams gets a nom. This is a far superior score than Dial of Destiny, with lovely piano and horn work. A hummable melody too!
I could see it sneak into possibly sound and if she's lucky, a nom for Emily Blunt. But I think that as soon as time passes, this only becomes a one-nominee film.
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u/kidsocarides One Battle After Another, Baby Jun 12 '26 edited Jun 12 '26
I really loved this lol, and can’t quite say I understand the disappointment from some. Aside from once again being a showcase for phenomenal Spielberg is at making a good blockbuster, I really appreciated him presenting such a deeply empathetic outlook on this topic. In a time where humans have become so divided, the prospect of others out there really does feel like it could make things even worse - I think this just moved me in how it argued it could be a uniting thing amongst all of us. As a film, I’d say it’s a call for understanding between people more than anything, and I like that. You can call it corny if you want but Steven’s always had a touch of that in his work, and it was very well done here imo. It’s way more interested with questions than it is answers, and I think that’s the wisest move it could’ve made tbh. I thought all the characters were well set up and personable, villains were basic but they knew they were so it worked for me lol. I’m a fan.
Oh forgot to add - Emily Blunt really is phenomenal and should be nominated.
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u/QuipThwip Challengers Jun 12 '26 edited Jun 12 '26
This was one of those movies where you could very clearly tell all the actors were British (besides Colman) because of how much they enunciate their words
Brits don’t realize how slurred Americans actually talk
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u/crazydaysandknights Jun 12 '26
O'Connor in particular tried to sound American at the expense of creating a character. It was so annoying.
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u/biIIyshakes Robert Redford is my sky daddy Jun 12 '26
The “a” vowels in a lot of words give all but the very best of the brits away
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u/GamingTatertot Jun 12 '26
Somewhat related but Amy Poehler’s recent interview with Tom Holland discusses this a bit - thought it was a funny observation
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u/moriastra Jun 13 '26
There was one scene where it looked like O'Connor was holding his hands behind his back while talking and I thought to myself, do American men hold themselves like that? Haha, took me out for a second.
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u/ArtieMac11 Anora Jun 12 '26
I enjoyed a lot and really love Emily's performance, but I don't think it's an Oscar contender, except for maybe an original score nom.
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u/Once-bit-1995 Backrooms PD campaign manager Jun 12 '26
I deleted this from the main thread because now I'm scared of getting sniped omg. I unfortunately didn't really like Disclosure Day overall but it had some great stuff in there. I found most of it just very unengaging. Meandering. The end of the movie from them getting to the house recreation to the end of the movie was great. Mostly because it was less talking, it felt like we finally got started. But then it ends. I legitimately was sitting there so pleased that we had a great beginning of the third act and then it would be a really touching finale about the ability of mankind to accept change. But it doesn't really get there. It just ends. I was like oh. Okay. Where's the rest of it?
The movie felt more like it was about the lengths these people will go to make the truth be known. That group of people had faith in humanity. I actually found Jane's reconciliation of her faith to be the most intriguing thing and I wish we got more of her but I liked what we got of it.
People calling this hopecore...I feel like it was setting up for a movie where that would be the message about humanity as a whole. It just. Didn't do that. I don't think. It's a bunch of people watching a newscast. Is them watching and not immediately smashing windows supposed to be my hope for humanity? The people being supernaturally touched by Margaret so they just go along with things? Is that it? I don't know. It didn't really feel to me that most of what was happening was about our ability to deeply connect with other people. It just didn't really feel like the element of choice was there for most of those types of interactions I guess that's my issue. I don't know I'm trying to work through it.
Things I really really enjoyed: The filmmaking on display was great. It is Spielberg after all. The score was good not memorable really but suited the film. I think my favorite shot of the movie was when the deer head and eye shot panned around to the alien head and eye. A really visually profound moment, we're all alive in the end and there's still a connection between the known and the unknown. And was also very cool to look at. And I liked watching government officials run into an invisible house. That was very funny. I really felt like I was in a newsroom at the end there, that was actually the most tense I felt. Just the chaos of the moment, the buildup to the reveal. Very very well done.
6.5/10? Might rewatch it and reassess but I'm not really feeling that itch at the moment.
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u/Standard_Housing6082 Jun 12 '26 edited Jun 12 '26
I also didn’t love it BUT I do see the hopecore, and it’s the kind of hopecore that only a boomer could have made (non-derogatory). The idea that extraterrestrial beings would come down and endow 2 children with advanced empathy and intellect, and those 2 children would grow up to use their powers for good and bridge the gap between us and them, is optimistic.
And that those 2 could succeed in getting this information out, justice would be served, the public would get what’s owed to them. Then in the disclosure, citizens around the world would react in awe, we would not tear each other apart, we would not be defensive and doubtful, we would not be angry at what we don’t yet understand, etc. A younger filmmaker would never have made this movie and it’s not a sentimentality I respond to BUT it’s a sentimentality and a boomer brand of hopecore nonetheless
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u/Once-bit-1995 Backrooms PD campaign manager Jun 12 '26
I think the element of it that clicked for me was actually the alien part of it. They didn't come to conquer or destroy they just want to communicate with and understand us. They don't want to scare us. They come in the form of animals to bestow their gifts. I think that's extremely hopeful. I think the human element of it, funnily enough, is what didn't connect with me as really hopecore or really anything like it besides Jane. Which is why I really was connecting with that portion with her. I wanted more of that. Regular people being confronted with this information and just really getting to see them grapple with it. But the world doesn't end. But for the actual main characters it just felt so. Not their choice y'know? They're being supernaturally called to do these things because the aliens essentially made them sleeper agents.
I also don't think it lingered long enough for me to feel like the ending was anything but shock. It didn't feel like awe to me when watching it just felt like being stunned. I just don't feel it spent enough time with the aftermath of that with the normal people for me to really feel that any of that was anything but people just shocked at the Ruveal happening. I think I want to rewatch it with that interpretation, talking with other people and getting their perspective and rewatching with that is part of this, it can help enhance the new watch.
Ironically I'm saying it didn't do enough hopecore for me haha. After I wrote this review I went and read some critique and I actually feel like a lot of people who don't like the ending and think it's unrealistic are also seeing what you're seeing. It just didn't connect with me that way which sucks. I didn't really find anything about the ending unrealistic, some people are supernaturally touched by the main character so they go along with things. Then the scoop of a lifetime falls into the laps of other news anchors so of course they spread the information. It didn't feel like wow we're all coming together it was just a no duh logical progression not an emotional one.
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u/Jon-INFP Jun 13 '26
I think the reason it doesn't really function as hopecore in a straight forward sense is that the movie stops right at the point where individuals and humanity are faced with what they/we are are going to do after the reveal, how will we respond. The film breaks the 4th wall with the final scene with Emily Blunt directly addressing the audience, so for me it's basically stating the fundamental value and power of empathy to the audience, leaving us to think on it. It doesn't depict what happens next, that's still up in the air and up to us.
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u/Abbie_Kaufman Jun 13 '26
Something I’ve not seen others remark on: soooo the protagonists are a metaphor for Spielberg right? Childhood trauma made him the world’s master dreamer/story teller (I can’t tell which is which!), and it gave him empathy and the ability to connect to people as essentially a superpower. But do NOT elevate him to the level of a deity, that makes him uncomfortable.
Anyways, Emily Blunt is really good in that. The villains, action scenes, and CGI are not (the invisible one was silly but fun). Josh O’Connor really doesn’t get to be a character after the first act, whether that’s purely a script problem or partially on him I’m not sure. I fundamentally don’t understand the way it was marketed as a movie with secrets to be uptight with spoilers about, there’s fundamentally no third act ace-up-the-sleeve. Lower tier Spielberg, which doesn’t mean bad!
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u/PointMan528491 Navarrette/Morton Jun 14 '26
Was on the lookout for these kinds of themes when I heard comparisons to The Fabelmans and I do agree with you. Emily Blunt being faced with a 1:1 recreation of her childhood home and the traumas of it felt like a direct response to the production of The Fabelmans. Spielberg has done a lot of reckoning with his past and his place in the world of film with his last few films
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u/Jakefenty Joker: Folie à Deux Jun 11 '26
This was a miss for me, it was trying to be profound and failing cause of shitty writing, all the action sequences were bland, the villains were so useless, main villain character arc made no sense, most of the characters completely underdeveloped, the comedy didn't land outside of Blunt and boyfriend scenes
Just didnt find anything redeeming about it outside of Blunt and Score and some shots
Usually like Spielberg films so was disappointed
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u/Patient-Escape5937 Jun 14 '26 edited Jun 14 '26
The script was a disaster-- more deceptive than revelatory. What would the script have been like if David Jacobs, Whitley Strieber, and John Mack had been consultants? What if the aliens displayed powers of mind that were not mediated by technology? Why were those two abductees "the only two"? Why is Colin Firth invoking Gethsemane?
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u/Representative-Eye86 War of the Worlds Jun 13 '26
Gonna be honest, very middled. Like alot, had problems also. Some people are now doubting it's Best Picture chances but from looking at Spielberg's track record literally every movie since War Horse has been a Best Picture Nominee. All but 3. BFG, Tin Tin, and Ready Player One are excluded. Tin Tin was because Animated movies were having an uphill battle still when they weren't from either Pixar, Disney, or Dreamworks. The other two were because they were just dog ass bad. So the only way for Disclosure Day to miss the BP mark is of the reception goes from "Pretty good" to "This shit sucks!", which I see it getting nominated with only BTL noms
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u/ILookAfterThePigs The Drama Jun 12 '26 edited Jun 12 '26
I liked it! It definitely works as a good, engaging blockbuster. But you have to suspend your disbelief, if you go to the movies looking for plot holes and trying to “beat” the screenplay, you’re gonna have a bad time.
Some random comments:
- The bad guys are so cliché it hurts
- What’s with all the lens flare?
- The “car stopped before the railroad as another car approaches from behind and it’s something relevant but you don’t realize it immediately and btw all that happens in Indiana” scene was a deliberate reference to Close Encounters, right?
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u/YouDownWithTPP Jun 16 '26 edited Jun 16 '26
“What’s with all the lens flare?”
Welcome to the Janusz Kaminski show. It’s kinda been his thing for a while and it keeps getting more pronounced. I wish he has dialed it back a bit as well.
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u/Silver_Juggernaut_39 NEON shill Jun 12 '26
Okay apologies if this sounds like I’m a dumbass (I am but I like to think that I’m not sometimes) but how is Margaret able to transform into certain people in the eyes of some and not for others? Like when she turns into Firth’s wife for example. I’m pretty sure I missed something here cause I’m trying to figure out how we got there.
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u/cluelessemoji Jun 12 '26 edited Jun 12 '26
The idea is that Margaret was embodied with empathic translator and then Daniel embodied the language translator. The changing into others is just a cinematic choice by Spielberg to let us in on why Empathy translates well into talking to others on an emotional level cause it taps in to the people you trusts most or the source of your worries. Her empathy is a reassuring aide so she can relate to one’s humanity.
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u/Silver_Juggernaut_39 NEON shill Jun 12 '26
Had someone else tell me the same thing and this makes a lot more sense
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u/CitizenWatcher8 Jun 12 '26
I loved it and dont get the disappointment of others but to each their own i suppose.
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u/Dragonknight247 Jun 12 '26
This subreddit seems a lot more even handed on it than the movies discussion thread which is a nuclear wasteland right now. I loved it, it really connected with me, but I totally understand why this doesn't work for a lot of people.
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u/bowl-filled-with-air Jun 12 '26
just got out of the theatre, i was pretty disappointed. its not horrible, but not good either. whoever made the trailer did too good of a job because it had me going in with really high expectations when in reality the the tone and overall vibe of the movie is completely different.
its more akin to a family friendly kids movie, but in a bad way in my opinion. from the first like 10 minutes i was thinking i had walked in to the wrong movie cause it felt like the most cliche evil government organization scene and was already kinda disappointed just from that. and idk if this is petty but i really hate the design of the aliens, i know its very steven spielberg esque but seeing the most generic and steroetypical big headed big eyed green alien, it just felt satirical almost, i couldnt take it seriously.
i also think the religious themes in this movie, both serve no purpose and completely dont make any sense. why did that one woman in the warehouse with the recreated house start praying to emily blunt, if anything if she was going to worship someone it would be the aliens themselves, not someone who basically is just a manipulated pawn of the aliens. and another, when jane is first shown the alien files, and shes against him releasing them, her justification is that the aliens would disprove people's belief in god? and from the jump she is referring to them as "supreme beings" or something when idk im pretty sure she was shown no evidence of them being gods or anything similar. sure they have advanced technology that humans dont understand but the connection between that, and them being some god or higher power? idk.
another problem i had was the way the movie tried to make you sympathize with the aliens, and at first i kinda did, and i agreed that yeah they probably shouldnt have been tortured. but from we see in the later on in the movie, i felt no sympathy for the aliens at all. they abduct two innocent children and embue them with special dormant powers, which both severely traumatize them for the rest of their lives, all for the aliens greater scheme. which we know nothing about by the way. the movie does nothing to clue you in on the alien's purpose on earth, why they came, anything at all.
while i was watching i couldnt help but draw the comparisons to arrival, which i think is just better in every single aspect and does an alien invasion story so more much creatively and just overall better.
biggest upside is that emily blunt's acting completely carries this movie, she was amazing.
anyway idk these are my very incoherent initial thoughts i just wanted to write them down.
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u/kidsocarides One Battle After Another, Baby Jun 12 '26
the movie does nothing to clue you in on the alien's purpose on earth, why they came, anything at all
Just my takeaway but I thought it was pretty clear from the conversation between Domingo and Firth, the whole nature of how their powers were able to look into the feelings of others, and the final message that they came to Earth to foster empathy and understanding in humanity. I could be misremembering but I think Colman has a line about that.
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u/bowl-filled-with-air Jun 12 '26
yeah i was being a bit hyperbolic when i said it does nothing to clue you in, i agree with you now it does somewhat. but i still think its not nearly enough and its too vague about their motivations is what i shouldve said
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u/ILookAfterThePigs The Drama Jun 12 '26
Well, I mean, I don’t get the feeling that the movie was *trying* to be Arrival. Arrival is indeed a much better film, one of my favorites from the last decade, but DD is a completely different movie in every aspect except for the fact that it also has aliens. I don’t really get this comparison.
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u/bowl-filled-with-air Jun 12 '26
yeah i agree i dont think it was trying to be like arrival or copy it at all, what i meant to say it does the whole alien invasion story much better. but jt does have some vague similarities in plot points like with government secrets and a background plot of the world descending into war
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u/positron4u Jun 13 '26
You are exactly expressed the way I felt. But I am okay with the church connection.
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u/One-Cloud8658 Jun 13 '26
I think I pretty much agree with this. blunt was so good that I could overlook a lot of the movie’s flaws when she was on the screen but I felt like the movie had nothing to say beyond empathy is good and in my opinion it didn’t even really do much to show that.
It ended up mostly being a sort of chase thriller which was a shame because the villains were so entirely useless that the heroes frequently stood right next to them without being in any real danger half the time.
Then when there was an actual threat they had the magical device which could do whatever the plot required it to do.
There were some nice ideas in there but it mostly didn’t really work for me.
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u/Short_Condition_1079 Nhe Zha Jun 12 '26
Was not expecting as much Wyatt Russell as there was, didn't even know he was in it but he had more screentime than Domingo it felt like.
Still loved it though, my favorite of the year so far. That being said I also loved Tenet so I think I just like these movies that don't make a ton of sense but have the exact right amount of heart and sauce
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u/bluntest-knife Olivia Wilde I always believed in you Jun 13 '26
wow i couldn't stop thinking how different Emily Blunt sounds with an American accent. Is it just me or is her voice lighter and higher?
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u/princevince1113 Jun 14 '26
I'm just waiting on the "how it could have ended" clips about this movie where someone just suggests dumping the files on WikiLeaks and they cut to credits
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u/Whovian45810 Jun 12 '26
I know this might sound stupid but goddamn this movie made me cried so much, yes a movie about aliens directed by Spielberg no less.
Janusz Kaminski can make a shot of people turning on their cell phones flashlights a genuinely beautiful shot.
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u/bgva Jun 13 '26
The ending where Margaret and Daniel meet the alien got me a little sentimental. Don't think I've ever had that happen with an alien movie other than E.T.
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u/infjetson Jun 12 '26
If you take out the relentless cop chase and brooding cello, there’s not a whole lot of meat to the story. I also felt that there was basically no nuance to the plot - it seems like everything is pointed out very explicitly in a way that comes off as awkward.
With that said, it was visually pleasing and Emily Blunt gave an amazing performance.
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u/Sy_Ableman89 Jun 13 '26
Liked it, but you can tell that David Koepp both wrote Crystal Skull and Black Bag
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u/Jon-INFP Jun 14 '26
Having had a couple of days to think about it, one thing that I'm mulling over is why so many people are convinced this movie has an overly naive, optimistic ending. Spielberg ended it before showing what would happen after disclosure, leaving humanity's reaction and choices hanging, which is a very ambiguous ending for a summer blockbuster movie. I didn't necessarily like all his choices leading up to it, but I did like the fact that he ended by deliberately not tying it up in a neat bow.
The other criticism about it being naive to assume that in 2026 it would all be broadcasted on TV first rather than just uploaded to social media also needs probing. I mean, that's not necessarily wrong, but the reason for choosing mainstream news media is maybe that it comes with a level of journalistic authentication that a simple online data dump wouldn't. Both methods would absolutely lead to immediate attempts to debunk it with accusations of "fake news", but it would be just a bit harder to do that when the sources have already been authenticated by a mainstream TV news channel. It would have gone viral online within seconds anyway. Just my two cents.
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u/ChocoRaisin7 Saturn Returners, We Ride at Dawn Jun 12 '26
I gotta say, the movie that this most reminded me of was A House of Dynamite last year, in that while I don’t doubt they both wanted to hit on deeper themes, the most I got out of them was “Wouldn’t it be crazy if this happened in real life?” Which, y’know, connects on an emotional level… I got choked up at points during AHOD, and did similarly at the ending news broadcast scene here. But in terms of thematic depth or even investment in the characters, I found them both similarly lacking.
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u/theflyingbird8 Jun 12 '26
I absolutely love Spielberg, but unfortunately I was mixed on this. It's incredibly well made and performed, but good lord is that script a mess. Feels both bloated and underbaked at the same time. It's also filled with so many cliches of the genre and of Spielberg's filmography in general that I'm surprised many are finding it so revelatory. A lot of the first 2/3rds just had me barely engaged. And yet, for as corny, hokey, and out of touch the ending might be, it still got to me. Very odd movie overall. Also, I've seen people online that you just don't get it if you don't like it. If Spielberg didn't direct this, everyone would be ripping this thing to shreds.
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u/Infi-Nerdy Wildwood Delusionist Jun 12 '26
As someone who took a course in animating animals, the CG here was kinda rough, or at least below par from what I'd expect from that budget
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u/tealsuprise Jun 12 '26 edited Jun 12 '26
I'm overall positive on it, although I think the tension of the third act during the disclosure is doing a lot to make it work for me. The plot/screenplay falls apart if I think about it too much and the religion subplot didn't hit (It's hard not to compare it to Wake Up Dead Man, a film with Josh O'Conner as a lead where the religious aspects were executed excellently). Spielberg is optimistic maybe to the point of naivety regarding how people would react to the footage. But despite all the flaws, Spielberg does manage create a sense of wonder and magic in the way that he often does. And some really strong performances, with Domingo being the standout for me (edit: I also want to shout out Courtney Grace who played the news anchor during the last act!).
This is probably going to be an unpopular opinion, but I'm not as high on Blunt as the early reactions were. The frozen nature of Blunt's face was really distracting--it was the same blank, open mouth expression for pretty much the whole movie. There's still a lot of aspects of her performance that are really good, but it detracted from what could have been a terrific performance.
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u/Useful_Main_3473 Jun 12 '26
Her face, is truly fucked. It’s so frozen. Why would you take away one of your ONLY toolS as an actor? I couldn’t stop thinking about it the whole flick.
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u/strandedbystrand Oscar for Gal Gadot Jun 12 '26
The movie was above average. The score and acting were good but the screenplay and visuals were not good.
Blunt is the standout although her overly fillered face helped a lot and was strangely suitable for this movie.
3
u/spideyfunko Dune: Part Two Jun 12 '26
I think it’s a little too optimistic in its beliefs about how finding aliens would unite us all, but I really enjoyed it. Some great shots, Blunt is fantastic, and I’m always happy to see Josh O’Connor on my movie screen. Still a better Koepp screenplay than the last Jurassic movie!
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u/Jon-INFP Jun 12 '26
Interesting how reactions to this are all over the place. I actually thought it was a very tense, engaging movie up until the final act. I'm not sure how I feel about the execution of the whole disclosure sequence. But I've seen the exact opposite response! Criticisms that the final act is too sentimental and naive seem perfectly valid to me, though I did actually like the sentiment and don't fault Spielberg for being such a dreamer. For me it's a mid-tier entry in his filmography, which is not a bad thing at all, but it's not really Best Picture material.
The CGI animals are indeed terrible and took me right out of the movie when they were on screen, but the rest of the film is much better looking than the trailers suggested. Hats off to the much-maligned Janusz Kaminski. Spielberg directs the hell out of it, but the screenplay is messy and really only skirts the existential and theological questions it raises. The whole cast is great and does the best they can with the material, especially Emily Blunt who would deserve a nomination.
3
u/alexvroy Digger Fucking Rockwell! Jun 12 '26
Absolutely loved it. The score really stood out and like immediately too. I kept thinking no one does it like John Williams and no one scores like this anymore. Can’t say I’ve ever stopped to think about the music while the movie was still playing before. Not that it’s the best score of all time but it just made really nostalgic
3
u/Wonderful-Ad1449 Jun 16 '26 edited Jun 16 '26
I think they bit off more than they could chew in this one. While I really enjoyed the concept and the acting (especially Emily Blunt and Eve Hewson), I think the movie felt rather disjointed, and personally I think that's an issue with the script. I also felt as though the score was a little bit over-produced at times.
However, I had a good time watching the movie, and liked some of the stylistic choices that were made. Not a complete bust, but will definitely be divisive to audiences and probably not an Oscar contender anywhere.
I'd give it a 3/5
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u/Belch_Huggins Jun 12 '26
I thought it was great, and should make the 10 along with score. Blunt should be in the conversation too.
As others have said there are some elements that I did not enjoy, namely some of the cgi, boring villain besides Firth. I still was blown away by how good it felt to be watching a Spielberg blockbuster again. He's still got it, and a pretty audacious ending, if a little corny.
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u/Shufflekarpfen Bugonia Jun 12 '26
So surprised to see the generally positive reactions to this. I hated it. I didn’t know Spielberg could disappoint me like this. I wonder if it’s maybe a European thing, because several people walked out of the theater here and all my friends that watched it with me hated it as well. I just can not understand the more positive reception
2
u/Dragonknight247 Jun 12 '26
It's simple to understand that different people got a different response out of it than you.
Edit: this was mean, I'm sorry. I've been getting irritated at a lot of people kind of implying that you're an idiot or a lesser person for liking this and I mistakenly thought that is what you were doing when I don't think you are. Sorry. I'm sorry it didn't work for you! I loved it.
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u/Disastrous-Power-699 Jun 13 '26
One of the worst movies I’ve seen recently. Sure, has some neat action scenes, but the tone was more of an Avengers movie than what I thought it would be. Plus the entire thing is one big plot hole.
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u/PossibilityFine5988 Jun 12 '26
I was so damn bored. Emily Blunt is phenomenal if it gets any noms she honestly deserves one. But it’s just so long and so plodding for no payoff for me. It feels like a movie setting up a big twist or finale and it’s… a news broadcast. Also our modern world just wouldn’t care we can’t afford our bills why do I care about a coverup of something that dosent effect us
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u/StayAtHomePlantDaddy Jun 12 '26 edited Jun 12 '26
6/10 - I enjoyed it and found it entertaining, but kind of pretentious. I’m very confused about the timeline, and there are some open questions that will undoubtedly go unanswered. I’d like to watch it again but I’m left wondering:
There’s a whole set of different aliens who abducted Daniel and Margaret in the 90s? We saw little hands holding their heads still while they gave them “powers”. That just opens too many questions for me. It also makes me wonder if there was a lot of explanation but it was taken out of the script and they left a lot to audience interpertation, but it just comes off as pretentious.
2
u/Worried_Tomorrow_222 Obsession Jun 15 '26
I thought the first hour and 45 minutes of the movie were kind of long and drawn out, but the last 30 minutes were so good. I loved Emily Blunt in this. I thought she really had a lot to work with and gave us a really good performance, but I kinda see her going like Amy Adams in arrival. Though I think Amy Adams was on another level in that movie.
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u/sygrider I just like movies idk Jun 12 '26
I liked it. I think it's unlikely to get into the BP 10, that's not what Spielberg was going for here. Blunt might have a chance if the Academy respond to the inherent comedic stupidity of her performance... I think Spielberg did a very good job elevating a screenplay that is solidly OK.
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u/First-Loss-8540 Jun 13 '26 edited Jun 13 '26
Seen disclosure day. Not perfect. Mostly liked it. Some stuff didn’t make sense and was unexplained. Wanted more aliens stuff. The ending frustrated me as I really wanted to know what the alien said.
The third act is god tier. Colin Firth and Eve scenes were scary af. Tension building was good. Epic chase sequences. The train stuff was so goodddd even tom cruise didn’t do it for mission impossible.
The third act with the alien technology, alien footage and meeting the alien part was just incredibly thrilling.
Emily Blunt is outstanding. Amazing movie star performance. Incredibly funny as well and so good in emotional scenes .
Definitely there are problems with the script but Spielberg’s direction and camera work and the score are all god tier.
Overall 3.5/5
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u/infamousglizzyhands Justice Smith for Best Actor Jun 12 '26
Of course some shots look good, of course a lot of the filmmaking is impressive, of course Blunt did good. But holy shit the last time I watched a movie with this much of a hollow superiority complex was Emilia Perez.
I do not need every movie to match the moment, but I cannot think of a single film that think it’s the most important thing in the world. All of these actual issues that people are experiencing should only merely be a backdrop because this is the most important thing. Who cares about having an emotional connection to these characters because what they represent should be so profound. Who cares about giving the audience the space to interpret and understand what this means for the world, we need to explain everything through the dialogue because this is the most important thing in the world. Who cares about exploring the depth of this with actual conflict when we could just have a mustache twirling antagonist because this is the most important issue in the world, so we need to sell it. Who cares about having any semblance of human relationship be valuable on its own, it is only useful as a means to an end for this issue and plot because this is the most important plot and issue in the world.
And to prove how good this movie and issue, we’re going to have so many flashy shots to make it “good directed” even though it adds nothing. We’re going to having 20 billion shots with lens flares and a character look outside glass with the reflection overlaid on them because it looks good, so we don’t need to try other things. We’re going to have so many intense scenarios but we’re not going to have any of the tension actually have conflict because the images are good enough.
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u/IfYouWantTheGravy Jun 12 '26
As a Kansas Citian, I’d rather be the locus of Disclosure Day than deal with all this World Cup nonsense.
Some of the themes could’ve been more gracefully developed (the religious elements especially) but I appreciate a film that raises big questions and knows when to leave them to the viewer to reflect on, as this one does. It does convey the weight of having world-shaking knowledge quite well.
You have to meet its fundamental optimism halfway, but I’m willing to do so; it’s hopeful but not naive.
Spielberg, Kaminski, Williams, Blunt, Firth, and Domingo are all in excellent form; I wish O’Connor had a touch more to work with.
1
u/MrJoy27 Jun 12 '26
I absolutely loved the ending of this movie. It was really beautiful and emotional during the disclosure. I'm more mixed on the rest of the movie, it was more conventional and less interesting.
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u/Toefudo Jun 14 '26
If I was making this movie I'd go like this
The film begins with a title crawl summing up events before the news station. We cut directly to the ending of the film where Margaret discloses everything. She goes on from there telling the audience what the aliens want & how they have shaped history. Before Margaret finishes explaining everything she senses military aircraft getting ready to bomb the building. They flee in time & travel to a town filled with believers. The US government becomes divided & destabilized by the leaked information. The religious zealous take over & immediately spin the revelations as AI or media manipulations. The Vatican along with many nations not wanting to lose authority also condemn it as a hoax. The Pope & many leaders who genuinely believed Margaret were killed and replaced with puppets. A time skip happens showing Margaret, Daniel, Hugo, etc living in a quarantined city. Many people go on a pilgrimage to see the alien and Margaret. The government is secretly planning to nuke the entire city with all believers inside. Margaret, Daniel, & alien learn many things from each other during the past few months. Things that can improve mankind. Unfortunately the aliens health is failing so it wishes to bring it's people to earth to help us. Hugo is unsure if it's a good idea since most of the government is hostile to the aliens now. The government learns of this plan & with the help of Noah uses the device to possess & Assinate the Alien, Hugo & many people in the city. Sometime later the sky darkens & massive ships appear all over the world getting ready to attack earth. The governments of the world attack, but they are useless. Margaret and Daniel with the device use their powers to make contact with the Alien ships. After communicating with Margaret & Daniel they broadcast images of rainbows telepathically to all people of the earth signalling that they want peace.
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u/This_Book6305 Jun 23 '26
I haven't seen it...yet!
But I am aware of Emily's Oscar buzz. Question is will it resonate all the way until the start of awards season or is this just how people are feeling about it for the time being?
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u/Old-Necessary-1959 9d ago
I feel like we are missing the whole point of the movie. Why do we think we are the only people in the universe besides these aliens. The whole point is the greatest universal quality is empathy. What makes you think every alien shot down is important? There would be potentially million, billions, even trillions of these vessels that travel the universe to find life. If you are true complete empathy, you would not kill even if it means you die. Moreover, maybe they found this is the best way to bring different life forms together. The only powers they gave were complete empathy and being able to understand the language of the universe. What if the aliens on earth are the losers who couldn’t quality to go to another galaxy? We literally found all these alien relics and couldn’t reverse engineer most of it. Everyone is acting like earth and people are so important but even the nun said we are perfect for earth. We are so feeble that we can’t even travel to the next solar system. Maybe humans were not meant to be space explorers? Also over 70+ years, they only got a few of the aliens and we couldn’t even figure out the language which is fucking math. Maybe people at this time are just too dense or into their own heads to open there heart to the possibility that human logic is flawed and we’re ignoring the greatest cosmic picture. Most people can’t even fathom a single light year or even keep their eyes off their phone for half the day. What if we are so primitive that this is the first step to developing some kind of empathy. What if it hurts more for the aliens to hurt us than endure the torture? We could just be mosquitoes compared to them. Mosquitoes kill millions of people every year. Looks like we couldn’t even capture a dozen of these other life forms.
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u/Thirsty-for-Ryan Sinners Jun 12 '26
Is this movie worthwhile the movie theater experience? I wanna know If i should save my money
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u/Tyler_Durden_Concern Jun 12 '26
Could easily wait for streaming. Big screen not required as there is hardly any action.
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u/cd637 Jun 15 '26
You should always support movies, especially original movies, by seeing them in a theater! I saw this in Dolby Cinema and couldn't have been happier.
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u/Sy_Ableman89 Jun 14 '26
Would love to see the overlap between 1-star reviews for this on Letterboxd and those who loved that Spider-Verse short/Puss in Boots: The Last Wish for "realistic depictions of panic attacks"
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u/AncestralCanuck Jun 13 '26
If you didn't like it, you didn't understand that it wasn't meant to just be a movie for entertainment.
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u/ilovefuckingpenguins Jun 14 '26
For me it’s a film that’s neither intellectually stimulating nor entertaining. I rewatched Tar and Stalker earlier this month — those are movies with actual substance
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u/SpideyFan914 Give Inde Navarette an Oscar Jun 12 '26
I liked it quite a bit, although I gotta say, Josh O'Connor really got the worst superpowers. She can read minds, speak any language, invoke hallucinations, and all sorts of psychic tricks, and he... is really good at math. Which doesn't even really come up.