Nearly fifty years after Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Steven Spielberg returns to explore the simple idea, how would we react if we learned we weren’t alone? If all we understood about humanity, the universe, and our place in it, changed in an instant? Emily Blunt is giving it her all as a weather reporter whose world — and the way she sees it — is suddenly upended by a new gift. Josh O’Connor is proving himself yet again as a series movie star, allowing us to connect with the darker and more heroic sides of his character. Colman Domingo is a standout as the film’s moral compass and source of charm and brilliance, and Eve Hewson gives her best performance since Flora and Son, with her character adding a theological perspective and debate to the speculation of extraterrestrial life. Colin Firth also gives a complexity to a force that would seem ruthless and antagonistic anywhere else, but Spielberg refuses to carve out traditional villains for us here, at least not the ones we can tangibly perceive.

Boasting the best elements of conspiracy and fugitive thrillers, Disclosure Day exercises restraint very well with how slowly it reveals the scope of information and stakes to us. We’re left somewhat guessing and in the dark for much of the film’s first two acts in a very refreshing way. What makes this film so Spielberg-esque is his relentless optimism, a real and moving kind that shakes the film’s final moments. In a world that’s more plagued with cynicism, today’s generation can finally understand what it was like when Close Encounters arrived, the curiosity about making contact with life from beyond our planet, the wonder of their arrival, and the empathy that’s key to our connection and survival.