No more small moves, Ellie.

Cornered by a clandestine organization led by Noah Scanlon (Colin Firth), Daniel Kellner (Josh O’Connor) negotiates a trade for hostage Jane Blankenship (Eve Hewson). In the ensuing exchange, Daniel manages to escape with both Jane and the trade-worthy MacGuffin… prompting a whole lot of questions from the former hostage. Elsewhere, Margaret Fairchild (Emily Blunt) is running late for work as a weather forecaster but is being strangely afflicted with the trauma of others, inexplicably knowing what secretly haunts everyone around her. As the cameras roll, Margaret begins speaking in a series of insect-like clicks and sounds before collapsing. Between these two individuals and a cache of unredacted documents and recordings, something is about to change the nature of the way humanity views their place in the known universe.

Co-written by David Koepp, scored by John Williams, and directed by Steven Spielberg, the filmmaking pedigree alone commands attention. A far cry from the quasi-biographical The Fabelmans, it’s a happy return to form for the creator of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial… or perhaps War of the Worlds. A marketing campaign with forest creatures acting unanimal-like and demonic-sounding people on broadcasts suggest something is very wrong and/or is about to happen. When the fate of the world hangs in the balance, where’s Will Smith when we actually need him?

After the choice of jumping into what would be (in any other film) the start of a second act, viewers are immediately and/or deliberately thrust into confusion. This sets up a literal journey of discovery through flashbacks and Q&As to squeeze an unnecessary excess of story into a small space, all to catch up to what the trailers have already revealed: there’s some kind of “X-Files”-esque truth out there. Switching up the main-character-energy needing-to-know drive similar to the director’s own Close Encounters of the Third Kind, this everyone-should-know rework prompts too many unanswered questions, too many overconfident characters (including Colman Domingo’s Hugo), and a whole lot of running between big set pieces to make our quest more cinematic. Yet with a Williams score, Spielberg’s classic direction, and top-tier special effects, the shooting script lacks a beginning and any denouement. It’s Second Act: the movie.

Assuming the core idea is to present this now in modern times where attention is currency and there’s always a war happening somewhere, there’s a lack of how current technology works. Minimum required surveillance tech understanding should require watching the complete “Mr. Robot” series and a casual search regarding automated license plate readers. It’s giggle-worthy that anyone with access to super-advanced technology would forget their access to Enemy of the State basics (“… he’s smart; he never looks up”), which seem quaint nowadays in comparison. Broadcast signals are all digital now, so uplinks and source feeds aren’t beyond the reach of an agency who can repoint satellites on a whim. One final sticking point: if you want to interrupt a broadcast, target the uplink antennas instead of the power grid… like the ones right behind you.

Of course it’s well-acted and looks fantastic, but the script refuses to answer even simple questions. One of film’s more interesting revelations is nearly an afterthought, a footnote to the spectacle: how might religion fit into first contact? A clever explanation is offered, but remains unexplored as humanity stares at their phones, purposed merely to ask a question: what would you do? Apologies, Mr. Director, but I was hoping for your thoughts, not an opinion poll of viewers.

Disclosure Day is rated PG-13 for action/violence, some bloody images, strong language, and a Choose Your Own Ending ending.

Two skull recommendation out of four