Mercy (2026)

Mercy (2026)

In the near future, a detective is accused of murdering his wife. Tried by a highly advanced artificial intelligence – one he himself helped to develop – he has just 90 minutes to prove his innocence… before it seals his fate.

So, I have no doubt that if AIs were to start judging us in court, they would do an even worse job than real judges, who are, admittedly, human, but just as corrupt. And that could well happen soon!

In this feature film, we find ourselves in a world where everything is filmed, everyone is under surveillance, yet they can’t figure out who’s guilty of a crime against a woman?

Unbelievable! A film categorised under so many genres: Action, Drama, Crime, Mystery, Science Fiction and Thriller! It sounds completely mad! But surprisingly, it isn’t categorised as Horror… even though there’s plenty to get the blood running! Indeed, we’re not that far off from such cutting-edge technology. The army must have had it for a while now.

Anyway, the fact is that this film feels a bit like a rollercoaster ride, juggling from one genre to another – thriller, action film, dystopian courtroom drama, family drama, and even sci-fi. Basically, it’s rather a flop and poorly made. I didn’t really buy into this near future fuelled by AI and flying machines!

The excellent Chris Pratt is also called Chris in this film! Chris Raven.

Pratt has become one of the most recognisable faces in American blockbusters. In 2014, he joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Guardians of the Galaxy. His role as Peter Quill / Star-Lord brought him worldwide fame and secured him numerous appearances in MCU productions.

So… this film starts off with a good idea, but that’s as far as it goes!

Perhaps Chris Pratt should stick to keeping order in the land of the dinosaurs! Seeing him here, apart from a few minutes, strapped to a chair for the entire film whilst he tries to provide the necessary evidence of his innocence, hampered by his past alcohol consumption – results in most of the film being confusing, jittery and disorganised, with rapid cuts, digital effects and, above all, footage shot using on-board and handheld cameras. It’s extremely tiring and of a rather low standard.

On the other hand, the few special effects have been described as awful or as the worst part of the film. I don’t agree at all. They’re actually not bad. Although I do understand those who say that the truck chase scenes, shot entirely in CGI, are enough to make you want to throw up!

Timur Bekmambetov had already made the relatively poor and unsuccessful Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012), as well as the rather mediocre Wanted (2008). And the actors are never the problem with these films. It’s worth noting that Night Watch (2004) is the worst of them all, and I didn’t even want to watch its sequel. It had been a while since I’d thought back to Speed (1994). Indeed, in both these films, quite a few people die… in order to save others. It’s always rather tragic!

Of course, we’ll also think back to the excellent Minority Report (2002), which did a great job of exploring the idea of a guilty cop being judged by technology.

Incidentally, Chris Pratt and Rebecca Ferguson filmed all their scenes separately, and you can tell all the time. Chris always receives completely unjustified criticism, often relating to his private life. If he’s dreadful and one-dimensional, it’s mainly because he’s actually a good actor who isn’t like that elsewhere!

As for Rebecca, she does the bare minimum by being perfectly expressionless and icy. What could be more normal, given that she’s playing the role of an AI! That said, I’ve read that this was her best film. I wonder what the others must be like, then!

Well, anyway, Mercy was a stratospheric flop at the box office and flopped miserably in the rest of the world. It has to be said that even the poster is unbelievably awful (worthy of a direct-to-video release). This film would have been much better suited to a streaming platform rather than hitting cinemas – sometimes (or rather, often) you just can’t make sense of it!