I actually had pretty high hopes for Mercy, and I was excited as I sat down to watch this in my theatre. I like Chris Pratt (Jennifer’s Body, Guardians of the Galaxy, Jurassic World) and Rebeca Ferguson (Silo, Dune, The Greatest Showman), and the premise about an AI that can decide our fate sounded kind of cool. Like most people, I was getting major Minority Report vibes from the movie, but I did not see that as a bad thing at all, as that movie is like 20 years old at this point!
Where to Watch Mercy
Mercy was released on January 23, 2026. You can stream the film from Amazon Prime Video.
The Movie Review
The thing is, this is another one of those movies that is pretty much just the trailer that has been extended. This was a very predictable movie, and I called who the killer was very early oh as it was so obvious. Still, the premise here is pretty solid, especially these days with how much AI is at the forefront of many things that we do in our everyday lives.
Let me give you the basics of the plot, pretty much all of which is explained in the trailer by the way! Set in the future, Chris Pratt plays the role of an LA cop called Chris, yeah, his character’s name is the same as his. Crime has been pretty rampant, but an advanced AI that is played by Rebeca Ferguson handles this. This AI is the judge, jury, and if necessary, executioner. In theory, this is a very efficient system.
How the AI Justice System Works in Mercy
The way that this justice system works is that the accused sits in this chair, then they have 90 minutes to prove their innocence; if they do, they go free, if not, they are executed there and then in the chair. The 90-minute timer is interesting, as that is how long the movie lasts, and it kind of happens pretty close to real time.
Our main character, Chris, is in a spot of trouble. Chris has been accused of killing his wife, something he is adamant that he did not do; now he needs to try to prove his innocence. The way this happens is that it is done through computers and phones, and I guess it is a play on the whole, tech is always listening to us thing that we have going on these days.
Mercy Movie Pacing, Acting, and Overall Experience
To be fair, Mercy gets started right away, and the pacing is pretty solid. However, this is about as average a movie as you can get; this is a prime example of a movie that should have just come straight to streaming. It is not as if the movie is horrible or even bad; it is just as the kids these days say “mid”. There was nothing surprising or shocking here, and the final act kind of goes off the rails a little, as some of the stuff that the characters say and do just feels so freaking weird.
One thing I will say is that I was surprised to see that my theatre was showing this in 3D, and I think the scenes where we see all the screens that Chris is seeing would have been cool to see in 3D. Of course, I am in no way going to make the effort to go and see this again, but I imagine if I had seen this in 3D, that alone may have made it a bit better of an experience for me.
Is Mercy Worth Watching or Skipping
I would not say that there is anything terribly wrong with Mercy. The acting is decent, the premise is solid, and I liked the look of the film, but it is just so damn average that it never really grips you. As I said, the trailer is pretty much the movie, so if you liked that, it could be worth a watch when it comes to streaming. I certainly would not recommend making the effort to leave the house and actually watch this in the theatre.
