“Listen.”

Story: WWIII is looming. [No, not for real, she said hopefully.] A conflict in Korea is stirring up fear among governments and their people. As the world prepares for the worst, Dr. Daniel Kellner is trying to release information that could stop things from progressing, at least for a while; aliens are real, and a shadowy corporation called WARDEX has been hiding this for almost eight decades. But that corporation isn’t happy. Are shadowy corporations ever happy?

Genre I’d put it in: Hopeful Confusion
Release Date: 2026
Remake, Sequel, Based-On, or Original: Original, but with a heavy whiff of Spielberg’s directorial vibe. Obviously.

Gotta say: It took me a while to figure out how I wanted to talk about this film. On the one hand? It’s a sweet call to humanity, urging us to look beyond our world and our problems. On the other, it’s over-long, rambling, unable to truly pinpoint a theme. Look beyond…then what? Day offers no answers.

Directed by THE Stephen Spielberg, this is his latest But Aliens Though film, the last being War of the Worlds in 2005. There, humanity is attacked by a much powerful race, and barely survives. In Day, some individuals know aliens exist, but those individuals are the ones to fear. Or at least be disgusted by; a scene where a character is shown footage where an alien is horribly tortured in the interest of “science” proves Spielberg is still an expert in crafting emotionally powerful moments.

Emily Blunt is an absolute powerhouse as Maggie, a woman who begins to experience strange things. She not only understood the emotional assignment, but crafts Maggie’s fear and confusion into a tangible thing. Eve Hewson delivers a similarly effective performance as Jane, Daniel’s girlfriend, who is inadvertently caught up in the goings on, and whose time as a novitiate brings religion and faith into the story. Hewson stands toe-to-toe with Collin Firth (as WARDEX CEO Noah Scanlon) as Scanlon tries to use June against Our Gang.

Hell, the whole cast is delivering here, but how could they not? They’re working with a living legend. Josh O’Connor’s Daniel is all quiet intellect and protective instincts; the real emotional weight of the story is given to Blunt’s Maggie. Ditto for Colman Domingo (as Hugo, a man with seemingly all the resources, who’s helping Daniel) and Firth’s Scanlon. Special shout-out to Hettienne Park as a WARDEX security operative. She’s not onscreen much, but I loved her in Hannibal, so I had to mention this talented actress.

At over two and a half hours, Day feels like a slog; I’ll admit I checked my watch a few times. Yes, there’s a lot going on – think of the multi-character narrative of Close Encounters of the Third Kind – but with Day, there’s no sense of buildup as characters come together, or wonder at the goings on. I’m not saying Spielberg doesn’t try, as there are definitely moments that connected with me, and tidbits of wonder. But tibits aren’t enough to sustain such a bloated runtime. Day feels like the director was trying to make every viewer happy by stuffing with moments, instead of telling an engaging story. Didn’t help that the climax gave Escape To Witch Mountain vibes instead of an epic finale. While I enjoyed Mountain back in the day? With a Spielberg joint, I expected more.

Day wants to deliver a poignant message about humanity, faith, and overall faith in humanity. Domingo’s Hugo even gets a soliloqy where he all but stares into the screen and says what’s in Spielberg’s heart, and it’s bloody obvious that that’s what’s happening. These ideas should have been effortlessly delivered throughout the film’s run time, not dumped into our laps in one go. The Spielberg of E.T., Close Encounters, Saving Private Ryan, and even Poltergeist? He’d have done that with ease, and a sly, winking grace. That touch was sorely missed here.


#Protip: As with the classic film The Day the Earth Stood Still, folks in the DMV will enjoy the way the area’s geography is, shall we say, creatively used.