It’s hard to not be unreasonably intrigued and excited for the next film by Steven Spielberg, especially with a film that returns him to his roots on the topics of extraterrestrial life. With a premise he passionately concocted through a 70-page notes session on his iPad and translated through the typing hands of Jurassic Park screenwriter David Koepp, Spielberg’s real-life obsession with UAP cover-ups and the hidden histories of our very own government fueled a beckoning call for the world to perk up their ears and open up their minds. What better way to get people to pay attention than through cinema?

Inspired by the actions of real-life air force intelligence officer David Grusch, Spielberg’s latest film Disclosure Day (his first since 2022’s autobiographical The Fabelmans) centers on Cyber Security specialist Daniel Kellner (Josh O’Connor), who is on the run from the Wardex Corportation run by CEO Noah Scanlon (Colin Firth), a secret government intelligence that obtains highly-classified truths including files, videos, and genuine artifacts. Kellner has stolen one such artifact, along with hard drives of historical security and observational documented footage of first-hand proof of alien encounters, while keeping in constant communication with former Wardex employee-turned-whistleblower Hugo Wakefield (Colman Domingo). Determined to get the footage in the right hands in the hopes of broadcasting it to the whole world, and driven by an instinctual internal compass he can’t explain, Kellner crosses paths with Kansas City meteorologist Margaret Fairchild (Emily Blunt), who is experiencing a very similar phenomenon. Unexpectedly gifted with the ability to speak unlimited languages and telepathically recall other people’s lives and memories, she aids Kellner through a journey that will no doubt change the world and its perception of reality.

Spielberg continues to harness the powerful gift of translating a flawed script into a riveting piece of work. Certainly there are holes in the story (our antagonist having all-too powerful technology that he only uses when narratively convenient or the idea that the entire world in this scenario wouldn’t succumb to immediate pessimism or outrageous panic), there are even some unpolished visual choices, and yet, Spielberg has so much faith in the story he’s telling, his passion and excitement radiates off of the screen and his insistence on keeping the story so character-focused adds to what makes this film so compelling from the jump. A propulsive two-and-a-half hour breeze, he throws you right in the middle of the exciting hot pursuit in its first sequence, barely letting you know a thing about who is who or what is being chased after, but keeping your eyes glued to the screen. Explanations are sprinkled in for later and the air of mystery coating every scene stays salivating in intrigue. For the first two hours, Disclosure Day is a non-stop chase film, with a handful of intense shoot-outs, breathtaking car chases (one featuring a train!), and narrow-escape sequences.

Thankfully, Spielberg movies are almost never empty calories. The film’s stacked ensemble all get plenty of room to shine and channel the kind of depth that makes these big spectacles worth latching onto and investing in. O’Connor is continuously great at playing the earnest everyman, with Kellner grappling with a certain buried childhood trauma and past mistakes that fuel his need for delivering the world the message it needs to hear, even if it creates conflict with religious faith, including that of his girlfriend Jane (Eve Hewson), a former novitiate. Colin Firth’s scowling Scanlon, similar to Ben Mendelsohn’s Nolan Sorrento in Ready Player One, is your typical movie bad guy in a suit leading a team of operatives to obtain a MacGuffin, but Firth makes a meal out of the menace, getting downright scary in certain scenes with his ability to literally possess minds, yet humanity is still clearly behind his eyes, a man dealing with a loss that only amplifies his emptiness. Colman Domingo, an actor who literally can’t not be great onscreen, exudes warmth and intelligent reason, a nurturing helping hand, especially as the film reaches its final act. But the real standout is, of course, Emily Blunt, who creates such a radiant personality out of Margaret before her world turns upside down that, once it does and she’s thrown into the chaos and confusion of her situation, is the film’s beating heart. Aided with incredible chemistry with O’Connor, Blunt is purely likable, deeply humane, and delivers a knock-out, complex emotional resolution through Margaret that not only showcases her best work as a performer, but helps create one of Spielberg’s most engaging lead characters in his filmography of the last two decades.

The film’s final act is admittedly takes a divisive path, nothing offensive or jarring, just lead with more doe-eyed empathy for humanity than one might have been expecting given the roller-coaster first two acts. What begins as Spielberg tapping back into his Minority Report instincts evolves into him tackling the same tone and thematic ideas as Denis Villeneuve’s Arrival (2016), a plea for proper communication and truth despite a fractured human ecosystem. Some may feel like he’s once again back-peddled into mushy softness, but Spielberg’s softness is easy to take for granted. His vision for a world united can only exist in the movies. It can seemingly only be properly communicated through an artist’s vision.

On top of being a thrilling summer blockbuster, that feels ripped from another, better era, its view of the world and the people that live in it is just as modern and urgent as ever, where anger and hatred is fueled by warped information every day. While humanity’s decision-making in the face of truth is always going to be undeterminable, Spielberg isn’t expecting a sudden call to action with Disclosure Day, he simply just asks, with the knowledge around us, that we listen. In solving any problem, miniscule or world-changing, it’s the only place to start.