Though entertaining, Disclosure Day lacks the spectacle and wonder of Spielberg's previous blockbusters

Aliens have long been a topic for Steven Spielberg's sci-fi movies, be it the warmth and family fun of E.T., the awe and wonder of Close Encounters of the Third Kind, or his terrifying War of the Worlds adaptation. Since Spielberg released some of his most classic films, the culture has shifted. The public seems more open to the idea that maybe we're not alone in the universe, especially since the government continually releases videos of unidentified objects. Meanwhile, thanks to the internet and the explosion of podcasts and social media, conspiracy theories have unfortunately been mainstreamed.

With all of that in mind, it made sense that Spielberg would return to a familiar subject with a movie that addresses the potential impact disclosure would have on the general public. While the maestro's latest is generally entertaining, it fails to capture the awe-inspiring visuals and stellar storytelling of his previous sci-fi movies, and it doesn't manage to fully explore some of the profound questions it asks.

Disclosure Day stars Emily Blunt as Margaret Fairchild, a meteorologist living in St. Louis with her boyfriend Jackson (Wyatt Russell). Early in the film, a bird flies into their apartment, and suddenly, Margaret can speak multiple languages and understand human emotion and empathy better than anyone else. After she rushes to work and goes on the air, she suddenly starts speaking in front of the camera in some strange code. This makes her the target of Men in Black, led by Colin Firth's Noah Scanlon, who wants to hide the truth about ETs from the public, fearing how it would upend long-held belief systems. Meanwhile, in the backdrop, the world is collapsing. There's increased tension between the U.S. and Russia, North and South Korea, and various other countries. A disclosure day event could tip the scales into utter chaos, Scanlon fears.

Margaret's sudden new ability puts her in touch with another "experiencer," Dr. Daniel Kellner (Josh O'Connor), a cyber security expert who's on the run from Scanlon's group because he has a laptop complete with files detailing an elaborate government conspiracy to hide the truth. This aspect very much feels like an X-Files episode. Daniel is accompanied by his girlfriend, Jane (Eve Hewson), who, at one point, was going to be a nun. Additionally, Colman Domingo's Hugo, a former government employee like Daniel, assists the experiencers in exposing the truth and evading Scanlon's capture.

There's a lot going on in this film, and yet, it never fully takes the time to explore some of the thoughtful questions it asks, like what would it mean for belief systems if people realized we're not alone in the universe? Jane generally serves as a character who represents the religious standpoint, and she asks some good questions to a nun who served as her mentor at one point. Additionally, Scanlon's position really doesn't seem all that diabolical because he fears disclosure would tilt an already unstable world into even greater violence. This is offset by Hugo's belief that the public deserves to know the truth. Yet, a lot of this seems a bit superficial because none of these ideas are given their just time or addressed fully.

Most of the movie plays out more like a thriller than anything else, with Margaret and Daniel constantly on the run from Scanlon and his large team of MIBs. There are some great nail-biting sequences, but the constant chases get old after a while. The film's fault doesn't lie with Spielberg's direction, but more so with David Koepp's script. There's a bit too much bloat here. The film also could have benefited from a little more levity and humor, a trait of Spielberg's earlier works. Heck, even the pulse-pounding Jaws and Jurassic Park still had some laughs. There's some of that here, but not nearly enough.

The film's strength lies with the performances, especially Blunt's. She's great in this movie, especially as an everyday citizen trying to comprehend something profound and the fact that aliens, in the form of animals, made contact with her and bestowed upon her a gift that she doesn't understand. O'Connor is good too, as are Firth and Domingo. It's a strong cast. And as for John Williams' score, it's not as soaring as some of his most well-known work, but it fits for what's essentially a thriller.

Spielberg crafted some of the greatest American blockbusters of the last fifty plus years. With Disclosure Day, he returns to a familiar subject, but it's just not quite as engaging as his other sci-fi films. This is a decent thriller, bolstered by Blunt's performance, but it lacks the sense of amazement that so many of his other movies have. It's certainly no dud, but it's not the movie event of the summer, either.

Disclosure Day is now playing in theaters.