Steven Spielberg’s latest science-fiction endeavor, Disclosure Day, is a pulse-pounding thriller. The narrative follows a protagonist (played by Josh O’Connor) who unearths evidence of a massive, multi-generational global conspiracy designed to suppress the reality of extraterrestrial visitation. Forced into a desperate flight from a shadowy, omnipresent syndicate, he eventually crosses paths with a meteorologist (Emily Blunt) who begins to manifest inexplicable empathetic abilities. Their burgeoning partnership hints at a connection that could fundamentally reshape our understanding of the universe.
While Disclosure Day succeeds as a cinematic experience—evoking the same sense of wonder found in Spielberg’s classics like E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and Close Encounters of the Third Kind—much of its thematic DNA feels remarkably familiar to anyone who has spent time binge-watching the definitive sci-fi procedural of the ’90s.
Image: 20th Century Fox/Disney
Debuting in 1993, The X-Files became a cultural juggernaut, centering on two FBI agents navigating the paranormal. Agent Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) served as the archetypal true believer, while Agent Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) was the steadfast skeptic tasked with grounding his fringe investigations in cold, hard science—though her resolve would inevitably crumble in the face of the inexplicable.
Throughout its iconic 11-season run, the series deftly balanced self-contained “Monster of the Week” episodes with a complex, serialized mythology focused on Mulder’s crusade to expose a government cover-up involving alien life. It is within this mythology—its scope, its paranoia, and its character dynamics—that Disclosure Day finds its most striking reflections.
The parallels between Mulder and Disclosure Day’s Daniel Kellner (O’Connor) are impossible to ignore. Though one is a federal agent and the other a tech-savvy specialist, both are driven by an obsessive, uncompromising need to bring hidden truths to the public eye. While Kellner’s journey is ignited by his sudden discovery of the conspiracy, Mulder’s fire is fueled by the primal wound of his sister’s childhood abduction—a mystery that serves as his singular motivation for uncovering the truth.
Supporting characters mirror this connection as well. Emily Blunt’s character, Margaret Fairchild, starts as a skeptical outsider—a stark contrast to Scully’s stoic scientific mind—but eventually finds herself inextricably drawn into the heart of the extraterrestrial enigma. Furthermore, the film’s antagonist, played by Colin Firth, provides a slick, menacing threat, though he lacks the chilling, ethereal weight of the legendary Cigarette Smoking Man. Even the role of the whistleblower, portrayed here by Colman Domingo, echoes the influential presence of early X-Files informant Deep Throat.
Beyond the character archetypes, Disclosure Day borrows heavily from the specific pacing and set pieces found in Chris Carter’s seminal series. Whether it’s the breathless tension of a chase sequence or the sense of entrapment within a safe house, the film feels like an homage to the show’s most desperate moments. While Disclosure Day features a high-stakes train set piece, it struggles to match the sheer narrative audacity of the X-Files episode “731,” which saw Mulder trapped aboard a train carrying an alien-human hybrid.
Ultimately, Disclosure Day is a polished, highly enjoyable sci-fi thriller that serves as a welcome return to form for Spielberg. Yet, for the seasoned X-Files devotee, it functions more as a greatest-hits compilation of familiar tropes than a revolutionary new vision. It is a solid film, but like Mulder himself, I cannot help but look at the evidence and recognize the patterns that came before it.
Disclosure Day hits theaters nationwide on June 12.
Source: Polygon
