If you found out we weren’t alone, if someone showed you, proved it to you, would that frighten you?

Steven Spielberg’s 37th feature film, ‘Disclosure Day’, marks a return to the science fiction genre for the first time in several years, and it is clearly an attempt to recapture some of the wonder and movie magic that made films like ‘E.T.’ and ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’ so beloved. The premise follows a group of individuals who have stolen files and technology from a shadowy US government organisation containing proof of alien life, with the intention of releasing the information to the public before the authorities can track them down and stop them.

The group is led by Daniel Kellner (Josh O’Connor) and Colman Domingo’s charismatic ringleader, alongside Emily Blunt as a television weather reporter who becomes caught up in the unfolding conspiracy, with Colin Firth playing the main representative of the government organisation determined to recover the stolen material. Spielberg wastes little time getting the story moving and the film rattles along at a good pace, quickly establishing its central mystery and then piling on the chases, close calls and revelations. As you would expect, he directs it with tremendous confidence, and there are several sequences that demonstrate why he remains one of cinema’s great directors.

Where the film is less successful is in its execution of the characters and themes. I found the performances surprisingly underwhelming, particularly from Josh O’Connor and Emily Blunt, both actors I generally enjoy. Neither quite managed to make their characters feel as compelling as the story needed them to be. The visual effects are also disappointing, especially for a production of this scale and budget, with some CGI that looks oddly unfinished and distractingly artificial. The story itself is entertaining enough, but it often feels as though it is playing things too safe, repeatedly opting for sentimentality over something sharper or more challenging.

The film’s central message appears to be about empathy, understanding and the importance of seeing the world through the eyes of others, and it’s not difficult to see why Spielberg might be drawn to those ideas in the current climate. The problem is that the film presents them in such a straightforward and optimistic way that they lose some of their impact. At times it feels almost unfeasibly hopeful, and while that sincerity will undoubtedly work for some viewers, I found it made the storytelling feel less incisive than it could have been. ‘Disclosure Day’ is never less than watchable, and there is plenty of entertainment to be found in its brisk pace and Spielberg’s direction, but it ultimately struck me as a slightly silly and overly sentimental return to familiar territory rather than a great one.

Rating: 3/5

Directed By: Steven Spielberg

Starring: Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor, Colin Firth, Eve Hewson, Wyatt Russell, Henry Lloyd-Hughes, Elizabeth Marvel, Hettienne Park, Tommy Martinez, Gabby Beans, Jeremy Shamos, Elliot Villar, Noah Robbins, Michael Gaston, Delaney Cuthbert, Tyler Renaud and Colman Domingo

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt15047880/