Mercy: A Misguided Mound of AI Mush

The Trial Begins

In recent times, the functionality of artificial intelligence (AI) has seen a great deal of growth, as it is now capable of many tasks – such as writing essays, drawing pictures, and generating voice cues – and continues to evolve to this day. But what if AI suddenly turned sentient, and had the ability to play the role of judge, jury, and executioner? That’s what Amazon MGM Studios aims to answer in their latest science-fiction blockbuster, Mercy!

From a surface level, this film has a great deal of potential to be a satisfactory blockbuster. Not only is it based on an original idea rather than serving as part of a major franchise, but it also has a promising premise, especially in an age where AI continues to evolve in an unpredictable fashion. Unfortunately, the film has shown early signs of struggle; despite targeting an opening weekend total of around $12 million, the film has received predominantly negative reviews from critics, lighting up many warning signs about the film’s overall quality. 

Despite the concern, I still had a bit of hope for this movie, primarily due to my love of the science-fiction genre. In fact, I was fascinated by the trailers in how they intensely set up the movie’s premise and tone, including how they teased an isolated setting, creative visual style, and futuristic spin on a classic law-and-order story. Was the reception from critics a sign for concern? Yes. But did I think this could be an entertaining action film? Absolutely!

With an open mind, I headed to the local Cinépolis Luxury Cinemas Mansfield and attended a screening of this blockbuster. As the court was dismissed, I was left with one question: did this movie live up to its promise of entertainment, or should it have been found guilty on all charges?

Put Before the Judge

Set in the year 2029, Mercy centers on Chris Raven, a detective with the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). One day, Raven finds himself strapped to a chair in an isolated room as part of the Mercy Court – a futuristic legal process helmed by the sentient AI, Judge Maddox – where he is placed on trial for the murder of his wife. With only 90 minutes to clear his name, Raven must gather digital evidence and prove his innocence to Maddox, or else face the death penalty.

Directed by Timur Bekmambatov – primarily known for directing Wanted and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter – the film is accompanied by a talented ensemble including Chris Pratt, Rebecca Ferguson, Annabelle Wallis, Kylie Rogers, Kali Reis, and Chris Sullivan among others.

Despite the promise the movie sets up in its primary concept, it unfortunately fails to deliver on almost all fronts, leading me to exit the auditorium a bit disappointed. This is largely because of how the film approaches its storytelling and the expansion of its concept, both of which were quite below par. Rather than try to do something unique with its overall plot, the movie instead plays its cards way too safe, resulting in a highly generic final product that doesn’t do much to explore the concept it sets up.

On paper, the Mercy Court sounds like a highly intimidating process, as suspects are given limited time to prove their innocence and drop their guilt level. In fact, there are some great aspects which came from this idea, primarily the implementation of the 90-minute time limit. The film is executed in real time rather than an elongated frame – it begins when the countdown starts and reaches its climax when the timer expires. As such, it did add a layer of realism to the onscreen events which provokes the slightest bit of anxiety as the timer continues counting down.

Unfortunately, the series of events surrounding the time limit are all quite basic, especially in how the story progresses. Despite the premise’s high stakes, this is a very standard guilty-until-proven-innocent story which does not do much to stand its own ground. Other than the futuristic setting and sentient AI, it plays out like most other court dramas, especially those which follow a similar premise. As a result, many of the film’s plot beats – including the final outcome – were highly predictable, thereby negating any sort of stakes as I could easily guess what was going to happen next.

Not to mention, many of the creative ideas this movie sets up are left unrealized, despite the added interest they build. For example, the background and previous cases of Mercy Court do not receive much attention other than a five-minute exposition dump in the opening scene, while the futuristic outside world is barely explored other than through video calls and camera footage. The film doesn’t do much to expand upon its setting, or how and why the program came to be, instead opting to focus on the generic story of Raven trying to prove his innocence. It ultimately takes a highly promising concept and absolutely squanders it, forgoing the potential it sets up in favor of playing it safe, which makes the movie generic at best and boring at worst.

Screenlife Suspicion

One of the biggest selling points of this film was its utilization of the screenlife subgenre, which sees primary characters confined to one location and only communicating with their surroundings through the digital world – as seen in films ranging from Searching to Unfriended. However, much like the script, this approach ultimately fumbles despite promising to bring something new to the table. As previously mentioned, the outside setting barely receives any attention, with most of the movie confined to an isolated room with Raven strapped to a chair, leading to a lack of general activity throughout the runtime.

Due to his confined state, Raven spends most of the movie inputting voice commands, scrolling through digital files, and making video calls as he tries to prove his innocence. While this approach makes sense given the context of the premise, the technical aspects which bring it to life share plenty of problems which further harm the experience. For instance, the cinematography is very oddly lit, with the majority of the trial occurring in a dark room solely lit by the technology surrounding Raven. 

Personally, I would have loved to see more of the outdoor locations, not just to get a feel for the futuristic world the film sets up, but also to just leave the dark for a few minutes. It not only would have given the movie more variety in its onscreen events, but it would have allowed for a great opportunity for worldbuilding to help viewers feel invested in the setting. 

But rather than provide varied sights and locations, the film instead uses its lone setting to follow a highly repetitive series of events: Raven communicating with Maddox, scrolling through online files, and occasionally making a phone call to his partner or daughter. Lather, rinse, repeat. It results in one of the most monotonous and tedious plot structures I’ve seen in a while, as there is very little experimentation with the storytelling, and it takes way too long to finally build any interest. The one-note delivery of the dialogue and overall predictability of the story do not help the matter either, making the movie feel practically lifeless as it unengagingly progresses through the trial.

Not helping the matter is the editing style, which is further harmed by the screenlife aspects. The vast majority of the film’s shots consist of close-ups on character faces – usually Raven or those he gets on the phone with – and frequent camera movements across multiple digital screens. The latter is especially prevalent when Raven searches for evidence, as the camera cannot decide which screen it wants to focus on, as it frequently drifts and jolts by design to keep up with every input Raven commands. It results in the cinematography feeling further disjointed, and even nauseating when the camera becomes too hyperactive for its own good.

However, once the film reaches its final minutes, that’s when its strongest moments come into the light. Without spoiling, I will say that the movie’s climax sees not just the outcome of the trial, but also becomes much more action-heavy and even utilizes decent plot twists. This is where I found the most entertainment throughout the entire runtime, as the film finally raises the stakes and delves more into the impact of the Mercy Court, providing a refreshing sense of depth and creativity after wallowing in the same repetitive structure for so long. This showed me that the film is capable of providing entertainment and expanding what it sets up. It’s just a shame that it takes too long following a monotonous structure to finally provide something effective.

Artificial “Lacking” Intelligence

Bringing these characters – both real and digital – to life is a talented ensemble, who are all capable of providing great performances. Unfortunately, the movie’s lackluster script and content also reflect on the cast, with many of them having their talents wasted as a result. However, this is not to say that all of the performances are necessarily bad, as there is a fair share of commitment from some of them. Without spoiling too much about their characters, I will say that I did enjoy the performances of Rogers and Sullivan, who add amplified traits to their smaller characters which make them more memorable.

Undoubtedly, the strongest performance for me came from Ferguson as Maddox, the AI judge who oversees Raven’s trial. Portrayed as an all-knowing entity who prioritizes the rules of the trial over Raven’s personal feelings, Ferguson easily provides the most power of any of the performances, sporting a domineering personality while still keeping an open mind. Throughout the film, she remains willing to help Raven during the trial in giving him access to important files which could better his case, while never negating the severity of his allegations and the fatal outcome if he fails to clear his name. These traits give her character the most impact of the entire ensemble, and the one who has easily stuck with me the most since I left the theater.

As for Raven, the main protagonist, he does have moments of concern, determination, and rage, but the film does not give them a massive emphasis. Rather, most of his lines resort to him thinking out loud about his situation, or vehemently denying the allegations against him. The film sets up many aspects relating to his character – including a troubled personal life – but does not do much to develop him, keeping him restrained to the Mercy Court’s chair and having him partake in repetitive phone conversations. There is promise for Raven’s character to undergo a redemption arc as he owns up to his past, but the movie instead sidelines that to keep the generic law-and-order plot at the forefront, wasting even more potential in the process.

On top of that, I found myself slightly underwhelmed by Pratt’s performance. Though there are some moments where he can successfully deliver an emotional line – especially in communications with his daughter – I found his performance to be mostly phoned in. In scenes where he solely speaks with Maddox, his dialogue feels dull, constantly telling the audience what’s happening directly in a one-note tone with little emotional drawl. In fact, it's not until the film’s final minutes when he invites more variety and energy into his tone to coincide with more intense events. 

Pratt is capable of delivering charismatic and varied performances, but his lacking line delivery and energy make Raven an ineffective protagonist, making most of the film even more tedious to sit through despite Ferguson’s best efforts.

The Sentencing

Overall, despite the creativity of its premise, Ferguson’s committed performance, and high energy in the final minutes, Mercy is an underwhelming science-fiction film due to its messy storytelling, inconsistent editing, one-note lead performance, unremarkable protagonist, and incoherent visuals. What this film has in promise, it unfortunately lacks in execution, leading to one of the most standard movies I’ve seen in some time. 

If you enjoy Pratt’s previous films, the science-fiction genre, or stories surrounding AI in general, you might find more enjoyment in this movie than I did. If you’re interested, Mercy is currently playing at theaters across the country, including Route 57’s own Cinépolis Luxury Cinemas Mansfield. But for me, the good was unable to outweigh the poor, resulting in a massive disappointment overall.

Despite the qualities it possesses, I hereby declare this movie guilty of squandering an intriguing premise in favor of a generic final product, and sentence it to the depths of the bargain bin. 

My Rating