From 1/21/2026 press screening:
What happens when artificial intelligence acts as a judge, jury and executioner? How far is too far?
Detective Chris Raven (Chris Pratt, “The Avengers” series, "Passangers") wakes up tied to a chair facing off with Judge Maddox (Rebecca Ferguson; “Mission Impossible” series, “The Greatest Showman”) in the Mercy court.
The justice-by-AI program was established a couple of years ago and it’s been proven to be an effective solution in the judicial system. For one, it’s highly efficient. It’s also perfectly accurate. Or is it?
People are required to connect their electronic devices to the cloud so that everything can be captured, tracked and replayed back. Anyone who is caught for a crime where the probability of guilt is 80% or over will be turned in to the Mercy court, and while restrained, will have exactly 90 minutes to review their case and prove their innocence. Judge Maddox will converse with the individual and simultaneously rate their guilt score.
Chris’ guilt score begins at 97.5%, considering the overwhelming evidence of killing his wife, Nicole (Anabelle Wallis), stacked against him. The surveillance shows everything in living color – history, videos, calls, records of where he was and what he was doing. If Chris’ guilt score does not fall below 92%, at the end of 90 minutes, he will be automatically executed right in the chair.
All by AI. What follows are fast displays of digital, pop-out screens surrounding Chris, detailing his relationships with his wife and teenage daughter, Britt (Kylie Rogers), and tracking his movements leading up to the heinous crime.
The frantic and fast-flipping of digital scenes display the discovery of his wife’s bloody body at the crime scene, live investigation led by his own partner, Jaq Diallo (Kali Reis), zooming in on conversations and heated arguments, telephone records, social media accounts, live camera feeds on and inside the house, neighborhood, and places Chris and his family have been.
It doesn’t help Chris’ case that he was found drinking and his relationship with Nicole was already frayed prior to the murder. Pratt fluctuates between emotional distress and calm determination, not only believing and knowing that he has been framed for murder, which makes it ironic, since he was an early supporter of the Mercy court program. Then the stake gets even higher for deeply personal reasons.
Under duress and severe time constraint, Chris must piece together clues, connect the dots, figure out motive and purpose, and save lives. The webs of connections to get to the discovery and reveal are overly muddled, but the if you see it from an overarching conclusion, the overall story makes sense, even when it doesn’t seem plausible. Ferguson is a great actress, but here as the all-knowing AI judge, her varying facial expressions are at times odd to see.
I typically enjoy high-concept sci-fi stories (“Hypnotic,” “Transcendence”), even if they fail in execution or illogically go off the rail. The same applies to the Timur Bekmambetov-directed (“Wanted”) sci-fi thriller.
The transparent screens in the sterile room and the flying police motorcycles are sleek. The stakes couldn’t be higher, with tense and rapid-fire scenes, speeding toward a stretch of SWAT-type of action toward the end. This is the cool aspect of the movie, especially seen in IMAX 3-D.
There’s no mercy in the Mercy court system. It’s a final judgement by timeclock. For all the talk that AI might replace humans, advanced technology isn’t a substitute for gut feeling, human judgment, and reasoning that go beyond surface-level facts (flawed as they may be).
“Mercy” is a merciless exploration of justice, artificial intelligence and humanity.
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Press screening "Mercy" hat and personalized poster photo-taking machine (for custom photo):
