Disclosure Day

Steven Spielberg circles back to his lifelong fascination with the extraterrestrial in Disclosure Day, which encourages thoughtful open-mindedness without heavy-handed lecturing.

Even if you dismiss its more technical ideas as high-minded hooey, this slick and suspenseful science-fiction drama earns our buy-in to a concept cloaked in conspiracies and cover-ups that leans toward the ridiculous.

The more it inquires about alien beings potentially contacting Earth — and how — the film ultimately is more intrigued by asking questions about ourselves, sparking our own curiosity in the process.

It begins by following Daniel (Josh O’Connor), an ex-hacker whose girlfriend (Eve Hewson) has been abducted a held for ransom by tech mogul Noah (Colin Firth), who also happens to be Daniel’s ex-boss.

What data he’s stolen isn’t exactly clear, but Daniel is threatening to release it to the world, whistleblower-style. He does have an ally in a former colleague (Colman Domingo) with the resources to keep Noah at bay.

A parallel storyline chronicles Margaret (Emily Blunt), a Kansas City television meteorologist who begins experiencing the strange ability to see inside the minds of total strangers, followed by an involuntary on-air breakdown.

With her boyfriend (Wyatt Russell) understandably perplexed, Margaret becomes obsessed with tracking down Daniel, even though they’ve never met. She’s convinced they share a link that could answer profound questions about humanity’s place in the universe.

Amid a maze of shifting loyalties and cloudy motives, the film dabbles in mind control and dual identity across time and space. Secrets are gradually revealed, which aren’t as harrowing as the potential ramifications.

Spielberg, reuniting with several of his frequent collaborators including screenwriter David Koepp (Jurassic Park), crafts a fresh puzzle from familiar themes in his filmography.

The film withholds key details early on before rewarding patience as the stakes intensify. Such narrative gamesmanship can be frustrating, but there’s a method to the madness. It’s a mystery that’s best to watch unfold rather than trying to piece together.

As you’d expect, the film is technically polished and meticulously detailed. Some of the thriller elements, including a stirring car chase, take on an old-school Hitchcockian flair.

Disclosure Day ponders a belief in what’s out there on a more personal and spiritual level. The climactic reveal is somewhat silly, yet you have to credit Spielberg for a big swing that never loses sight of its mainstream entertainment value.

Rated PG-13, 145 minutes.