It’s summer blockbuster season started seriously with the theatrical release of Disclosure daydirector Steven Spielberg’s long-awaited return to his aliens are among us sci-fi roots. Verdict: As alien movies go, there’s not much here that’s fresh or original, but it’s too fast-paced not to have fun with Emily Blunt’s brilliant performance.
(There are some spoilers below, but no major reveal.)
The first half of the film is essentially a political thriller – shades of 1974 Parallax View and films like it – global tensions bring the world to the brink of World War III. Daniel (Josh O’Connor), a cyber security expert led by Noah Scanlon (Colin Firth), has stolen an alien technology and top secret documents from Wardex Corporation, a top-secret extension of the US government. Scanlon chases Daniel away, holding his girlfriend Jane (Eve Hewson) hostage. During the exchange, Daniel double-crosses them and escapes with Jane, and the two begin to flee as Scanlon declares Daniel a traitor.
Meanwhile, Kansas City TV meteorologist Margaret (Emily Blunt) is having breakfast with her boyfriend Jackson (Wyatt Russell) when a cardinal flies through the window and locks eyes with her before flying away. Margaret continues her conversation with Jackson only in Russian – a language she has never learned. On his way to work, he notices that he can read other people’s thoughts and feelings and speak in their native languages. And then—in a crucial moment shown in all the trailers—Margaret starts a live weather report, only to switch to alien language on the air. That moment instantly goes viral.
This brings him to the attention of Scanlon, as well as Scanlon’s colleague at Wardex, Hugo Wakefield (Colman Domingo). Hugo is the one pulling the strings behind the scenes to arrange for Daniel to steal top secret materials. His goal: to reveal their contents – detailing human-alien encounters over the past 80 years – to the world. Scanlon is equally determined to stop the truth from emerging, and it becomes an uphill race against time as Daniel and Margaret try to escape his henchmen and find each other.
Vibe change
I won’t talk too much about the last 30 minutes because that would give too much away (although the final trailer gave some pretty strong hints). Suffice it to say, there’s a clear shift in vibe towards the mystical as the plot threads come together. While some have criticized the CGI, especially for the animals, it works in Spielberg’s capable hands. Considering what these animals represent, I think it was the right decision to make them seem otherworldly, as if they were stepping into our darker, angrier world.
