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Ever since the trailer came out people have been discussing this as a possible secret sequel to Close Encounters of the Third Kind. It’s an odd thing to wish for as the few sequels Steven Spielberg has made are not among his best movies. Neither Jurassic Park: The Lost World or Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom captured any of the magic of the brilliant movies they followed and let’s not even get into Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Also, Close Encounters of the Third Kind itself may not be the work of genius you remember. Sorry but it has dated in a way that his other 70s films, Jaws and Sugarland Express, have not. The pacing is slow and the story is very slight for the running time. The ending is most certainly spectacular but it relies on this to cover up its narrative shortcomings to some extent. I mean really, what is the outcome of that fated meeting between humans and aliens at the end? We get some people back, we send some off and we have a bit of a jam session.

As it turns out Disclosure Day is not a sequel to Close Encounters of the Third Kind (although I’m not sure we didn’t get a shot of Devil’s Tower briefly at the end). At the same time it’s not not a sequel to Close Encounters of the Third Kind either just like it’s not not a sequel to E.T. It definitely has parallels with those two films; unsuspecting humans are again bestowed visions and alien powers and shady government officials are keen to cover up the truth. In fact both of these things reach an apex here and this does now stand alongside those other movies as the last part of an unofficial Spielberg Benevolent Alien trilogy.

Although I’m not sure why the intergalactic visitors in Close Encounters of the Third Kind are considered so benevolent; they have been abducting and hypnotising people. Who knows what they are going to do to Richard Dreyfuss in that ship. The enigmatic expression on little Barry’s face at the end suggests to me that he might know very well what ignominious fate him.

The way this is directed makes it feel very much of a piece with Close Encounters of the Third Kind and E.T as well, Spielberg does seem to be falling back on old motifs and sensibilities and there is less innovation shown here than in some of his recent output. It does follow some genre conventions but let’s not forget these are conventions that this director invented and established so he can be forgiven for returning to them. The denouement brings not only E.T but A.I to mind as well (and actually the Pegg and Frost film Paul too).

In the end how much you appreciate this will depend on your preferences. There is some nostalgic value for anyone who has followed Spielberg all the way on this fifty year journey but I don’t think it relies on that. It isn’t simply a case of different sensibilities, your romantic spirit or your levels of cynicism. You aren’t soppy if you love this or dead inside if you don’t, it’s just about how much you can connect with it. No matter your ultimate reaction there is compelling storytelling here, some exciting sequences, characters you care about and great performances – especially from Emily Blunt. 

Audiences who are held at a bit more of a distance from this might find some aspects harder to forgive. The animals in it don’t look very real (mind you there are plot reasons for this) and there is an alien device that someone says is not a magic wand at the beginning even though it absolutely is a magic wand. It also features the most frustratingly unheard whisper in someone’s ear since Lost in Translation. The Hollywood trope that aliens only ever land in America is reinforced here as well, although in truth I think it might just be that only America makes a fuss about it. 

In fact real events might have confirmed this. The recent release of more classified files on unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) do feature some from around the world but most are indeed from the States. Maybe the rest of us just leave them alone when we see them. Incidentally I prefer UFO as an acronym, it does fit better since they are literally unidentified flying objects. Calling them phenomena mystifies them in a way that probably isn’t deserved for the ones that are drones or balloons or weird cloud formations. Having said this I wouldn’t actually be surprised if the existence of aliens is disclosed in the not too distant future. Other recent world events have been no less surprising. Having Bond Villains in positions of political power is not what we wanted when we said we wished life was more like the movies.

Personally I really liked Disclosure Day. It is exciting, smart, atmospheric and highly entertaining. It presented its conceit with some verisimilitude as well and I liked the way it factored religion into the idea of the existence of extra terrestrial life. It is also clearly brilliantly directed. It also has a wonderful soundtrack from John Williams fours years after he said he was retiring. Of course Williams is going to keep coming back for Spielberg, and frankly so am I.