Imagine waking up to find yourself beaten, bruised, and wondering what the hell happened last night. No. We aren’t talking about that weekend bender with your long-lost college buds. We’re talking about a different kind of nightmare - one you’ve seen coming ever since Siri first tipped you off on the best way to dispose of a human body.
You shake off the cobwebs and notice you’re strapped to a chair, looking straight into the screenface of a virtual judge who informs you that you have been accused of murdering your own wife.
It’s not Siri, but it is MERCY an AI-driven system of justice developed to help alleviate spiraling crime and violence in our streets and to speed up the judicial system. There are no courts and no lawyers - just the victim strapped to the MERCY chair with but 90 minutes to convince the judge of your innocence.
Mind you, it’s not all bad, as you’ll have access to every single piece of camera video footage, cellphone data, Ring camera footage, company digital records, and anything else you’ll need. But be careful. All that private and public data could also put you closer to a guilty verdict.
Set in a high-tech, not-so-distant future where justice runs on computer code and countdown clocks, MERCY puts a high-tech twist on the courtroom thriller. Chris Pratt stars as a once-heralded detective who suddenly finds himself in the worst possible position: on trial for the murder of his own wife. The catch? He has just 90 minutes to prove his innocence before an all-knowing A.I. judge renders a final, irreversible verdict.
That judge, voiced and embodied with tech-cool precision by Rebecca Ferguson (The Greatest Showman), happens to be a system he helped bring into existence – awkward! As the clock ticks down, the trial becomes a fast-moving game of mental chess, with memories, evidence, and moral gray areas colliding at high speed.
MERCY taps into our widespread anxiety about artificial intelligence, surveillance, and automated systems making life-and-death decisions. Director Timur Bekmambetov deserves credit for building a virtual world that actually feels plausible. The technology used looks like a natural extension of what already exists in the real world, and the film’s respect for where AI is headed gives it an unsettling undercurrent. We’re all scared of this shit, aren’t we? The 90-minute “countdown clock,” which literally tells us how much time remains in the story, is a clever hook that reinforces the real-time pressure-cooker feel and keeps the early stretches humming along.
The cast does solid work with limited tools. Pratt spends nearly the entire 90-minute runtime strapped to a chair, reacting rather than actively driving the story. Ferguson, whose presence – only her face actually – is largely confined to a screen, brings a somewhat creepy vibe, but is similarly constrained. Kali Reis fares a bit better, though none of the actors are given material that truly challenges or elevates them. Technology drives this, not people. Maybe that's part of the film’s point?
MERCY is a brisk, reasonably enjoyable thriller that offers a timely twist on the screenlife genre. It just doesn’t stay with us. By the time you’re halfway home from the theater, the details—and the impact—are already starting to fade. But, keep in mind, one day in the very near future, you’ll be able access those faded memories with the click of a button.
MPAA Rating: PG-13.
Runtime: 100 mins
Director: Timur Bekmambetov
Writer: Marco van Belle
Cast: Chris Pratt; Rebecca Ferguson; Kali Reis
Genre: Action | Crime
Tagline: Prove your innocence to an AI judge, or face execution
Memorable Movie Quote: "With crime rates, soaring, lawmakers voted for MERCY"
Distributor: Amazon / MGM
Official Site:
Release Date: January 23, 2026
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date:
Synopsis: In the near future, a detective stands on trial accused of murdering his wife. He has 90 minutes to prove his innocence to the advanced A.I. Judge he once championed, before it determines his fate.
