Mercy Lacks Logic, Case Dismissed

Mercy

★ ½

Mercy kicks off its story a couple of years after an artificial intelligence justice system replaces the Los Angeles court system. The film sets itself on bad footing from the get-go, never fully explaining how LA got around constitutional due process, the removal of core rights, the elimination of presumed innocence and basic transparency—the list seems endless. The more the film goes on, the more the lack of explanation of how this was all circumvented makes it harder to suspend disbelief. We’re simply given this: It’s dystopian and this is the fix. Enjoy the show.

Chris Pratt as Chris Raven
© 2026 Amazon MGM Studios

Decorated LA homicide detective Chris Raven (Chris Pratt) is on trial for murdering his wife Nicole (Annabelle Wallis). He’s strapped to a chair in an AI-controlled chamber where the judge, jury and executioner is Judge Maddox (Rebecca Ferguson), an AI entity herself—itself?

Chris has 90 minutes to prove his innocence, or at least move his assessment of guilt below a 92 percent probability. Right now he’s at 97 percent. If he fails to do so, the chair he’s strapped to will execute him.

Chris Pratt as Chris Raven
© 2026 Amazon MGM Studios

He’s given access to evidence, surveillance footage and whatever reasonable resources Maddox can provide. Maddox gives a short description of the case against him, a reminder of why legal proceedings need to be done with proper care, and then the clock starts ticking.

Mind you, Chris has no memory of the last several hours, blackout drunk before waking in the chair. In dystopian LA, the wheels of justice may be a bit too swift. Needless to say, Chris must make use of everything at his disposal to prove the possibility he may not have killed his wife before the clock runs out.

Rebecca Ferguson as Judge Maddox
© 2026 Amazon MGM Studios

The script’s logic feels like it was conceived by writers strapped to a chair and given 90 minutes to make it work. Their threshold of believability appears to hover around 10 percent.

Despite Pratt’s best efforts, and he does give a convincing performance with what he has to work with, the script violates its own rules. For example, we’re told the AI is unfeeling, yet Maddox displays emotion. When a calculation is proven wrong, she/it seems to get a touch angry. Maybe Maddox has been too trigger-happy with the execution button lately. Later, we see her show sympathy.

The film would have been far more chilling had they put a James Cameron Terminator in place. Cold, unfeeling, calculated and will not stop until you’re guilty.

Mercy buries itself within its own concept. It’s an intriguing idea for sure, but we’re given the quick-draft Hollywood version rather than the Isaac Asimov Three Laws of Robotics. My enthusiasm for the concept was terminated well before the second act. Not even John Connor could save me from that.