Review: Mercy

Directed by: Timur Bekmambetov

Written by: Marco van Belle

Starring: Chris Pratt, Rebecca Ferguson, Kali Reis, Annabelle Wallis, Chris Sullivan, Kylie Rogers

Rating: [2/5]

There’s nothing quite as disappointing as a film that does a fantastic job at setting up its premise and completely floundering when trying to land the plane. It besets these ideas of what changes could have been made to improve it and not leave such a bad taste in one’s mouth. Mercy felt like such a roller coaster ride, where it pleasantly surprised, got better as it went along, and failed so miserably in its conclusion that it undid all the goodwill it built. 

Awakening suddenly in the Mercy Capital Court before a presiding artificial intelligence, Detective Chris Raven (Chris Pratt) stands accused of murdering his wife. He has 90 minutes to prove his innocence or at least raise reasonable doubt of his guilt by utilizing all of the information and access the artificial intelligence has at its disposal to build his case. 

As artificial intelligence continues to grow in prominence in our everyday lives, more films like these will inevitably appear. Professions continually integrate this tool into their work, from medicine to my own industry, finance. This feature posits what it could look like where, instead of a jury of one’s peers and a judge presiding over one’s trial with attorneys making the case, it comes down to the one accused carrying all of the responsibility of making their case and proving their innocence. One could argue the merits of this system but it presents an intriguing story idea, especially when the accused in this scenario is a police detective who has put many individuals in the very circumstance he now finds himself in. 

With the clock running, Chris must do his best to check available cameras, files, and a whole host of data that raises the question of how this artificial intelligence has all of this access. The level of information this tool has at its disposal displays the dystopian society this film takes place in and how everything can be utilized as evidence at a moment’s notice. Luckily for Chris, as a detective he has experience in knowing where to look and what to ask to try and make a difference in this timed trial of his, which begs the question of the disadvantage of others placed in this same situation. The other wrinkle he faces is a lack of defined memory of what transpired the day of his wife’s death. He’s sure it was not him, but everything remains hazy.

As the film progresses, it becomes evident most of this film will take place within this courtroom, which takes away a dynamism the script and filmmaking must overcome to deliver something entertaining. For a film relying solely on Chris Pratt angrily trying to find information exonerating him and Rebecca Ferguson as the face and voice of this AI, you would think it would not work. However, to my surprise, it worked very well. I found myself completely engaged in how the story progresses and the whole concept of this film. That is, of course, until we get to the third act and the attempt to deliver some shocking reveals and a bombastic conclusion falls flat on its face. Truly shocking stuff considering just how well everything previously came together to create something very entertaining and gripping. The story moves from the concept of Chris proving his innocence to a larger discussion of whether this court should exist and if true justice can be found through this method. This only gets made worse by the final lines of dialogue that very much was the final rotten cherry on top on a disappointing finale. 

As a January release, I did not have high hopes for Mercy and its overall quality, but it definitely drew me in with the intrigue of the story and general concept of individuals needing to prove their innocence. However, a complete howler of a final act derails the entire story as its attempt to reframe many of the conversations and pieces of evidence in addition to an ultimate villain reveal that on paper makes sense but falls completely flat. A true disappointment in every way, given the fact it drew me away from my skepticism and then reaffirmed why I had it to begin with.