My Cultural Diet

Aliens and Steven Spielberg go together like chocolate and peanut butter. Close Encounters of the Third Kind. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. War of the Worlds. Even Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. So Disclosure Day should be a walk in the park for the director, right? After all, it tackles some pretty big themes, like the effect that definitive proof of extraterrestrial life might have on human civilization. Unfortunately, Disclosure Day takes that high-concept premise and doesn’t really deliver on it. To be sure, it’s filled with bravura filmmaking; even though he’s pushing 80, Spielberg remains a master behind the camera. And John Williams’ score features his usual brilliance. But Disclosure Day’s story is half-baked, bringing up interesting points like it’s just checking them off a list and never really delving into them. (For example, it merely pays lip service to the challenges that alien life might pose for the world’s religions.) What’s more, the pacing feels off from the opening scene and it never really rights itself or develops a sense of momentum, which is ironic given that much of Disclosure Day is comprised of people chasing other people. I can see the ambition behind Disclosure Day, but overall, it’s a surprisingly ineffective film from one of our greatest filmmakers.

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