Summary
Highlights
The reviewer begins by stating this is the most difficult review he's ever had to record, as he never relishes giving a Steven Spielberg movie a bad review. He unequivocally declares "Disclosure Day" to be Spielberg's worst and most disappointing film, even ranking it below other critically panned Spielberg works and calling it the "cinematic equivalent of taking away grandpa's car keys."
The reviewer discloses he is a hardcore UFO believer and hosts a show on the topic, having read hundreds of books on UFOs. Given Spielberg directed "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," the reviewer was cautiously optimistic about "Disclosure Day."
The movie is described as the "most boomer movie of boomer movies." Despite its title, actual disclosure only happens at the very end in a "cringe way," with no exploration of what happens afterward. The film follows three underdeveloped characters: Daniel Kellner (modeled after Edward Snowden), Margaret Fairchild (a weather woman with alien powers), and Hugo Wakefield (a former Wordax agent who acts as a "magical negro"). The plot revolves around Daniel stealing alien technology and files from the incompetent government agency Wordax, and Margaret's alien-bestowed powers, all while the world is supposedly on the brink of World War III, which is poorly depicted.
Margaret's alien powers, granted by a "horrifically CGI'd bird," include mind-reading and language fluency, including an alien language. Daniel gains intuitive understanding of the universe's mathematics. The reviewer criticizes these powers' origin and the lack of explanation for other key plot points, such as the aliens' motivations or origin. The suspension of disbelief is broken when a government agent uses an alien crystal to possess Daniel's ex-girlfriend's body to try and kill him, despite simpler methods being available.
After two hours of poorly developed characters and story, the film reaches its climax where disclosure is supposed to happen. Instead of using the internet, a convoluted plan involves painstakingly rebuilding Margaret's childhood home to trigger suppressed memories. The big revelation is that Daniel and Margaret were alien abductees, a fact obvious to the audience early on. Finally, they disclose information via a news broadcast, where a wheeled-in alien whispers to Daniel, who translates one word: "Listen." The movie ends there, leaving all questions unanswered.
The reviewer is left with numerous unanswered questions: what the alien whispered, their true intentions, their origin, and the purpose of child abductions. He criticizes the film for not leveraging existing UFO literature and for its failure to capture the wonder and depth of Spielberg's earlier works like "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." The film is described as drab, stale, predictable, and uninspiring, showing a filmmaker who has lost his sense of wonder and become part of the "machine."
The reviewer laments the loss of the Spielberg who created iconic films like "Jaws," "Raiders of the Lost Ark," and "E.T.," crediting him with defining cinema for decades. Despite the abysmal quality of "Disclosure Day," he believes it won't tarnish Spielberg's legacy, though he jokes the director should have his "keys taken away." The reviewer encourages viewers to like, share, and subscribe.