Mercy

Mercy (2026)

22% on Rotten Tomatoes (out of 139 reviews)

Runtime: 100 minutes

Directed by: Timur Bekmambetov

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

From: MGM

Lord Have Mercy, this wasn't good!

My only reasons for seeing the film: I still have an AMC A-List account, I had free time yesterday, I saw this in conjunction w/ another movie (that review will come on Wednesday), and there was chatter elsewhere-of course, a thread on a Discord server I won't mention publicly-concerning the film. The trailer sure as heck didn't sell me on the film; it also didn't tell me that the director was Timur Bekmambetov. As much as he probably wouldn't want me to, it's impossible not to compare this with another screenlife movie, the already legendary Ice Cube War of the Worlds, where he was one of the producers.

Both have a similar style; heck, Rebecca Ferguson's AI character has omniscient powers like Cube did, hacking and accessing any data at a moment's notice. In the far-flung future of 2029 (where the cops have flying motorcycles), police officer Chris Pratt-hamming it up, often yelling or acting wild even while strapped to a chair-is accused of murdering his wife. Can you believe that he has 90 minutes to prove to an AI judge that he's innocent? That's one of many logical fallacies throughout; the script is just utter bunk, filled with at least one huge contrivance. Minority Report, this is not... and I don't even love Minority Report like everyone else does.

BTW, what impeccable timing Mercy has; aside from it presenting a message that is pro-AI and it supports law enforcement, had Pratt (I've noticed many here don't like him, for I'm sure a variety of reasons) as a cop who wishes he would have executed a criminal that executed his cop partner-a subplot is civil discontent and people rioting on the streets in an American city. This is not me but many will strongly dislike the movie for that alone.

I don't despise the movie like some do; at the same time, more power to those that were fans of Mercy-it's a fine idea for something new and using modern talking points. That said, the movie was nonsensical and has an overblown, preposterous finale. Cube's War of the Worlds was much more inept and embarrassing, making it a more entertaining bad movie experience by far. Mercy was not boring and did not make me angry-otherwise the movie's plot shouldn't be scrutinized logically whatsoever and it squanders what could have been a decent premise.

In that aforementioned thread, even a big Ferguson fan said that Mercy was a bridge too far for him and he wasn't interested. I gave a brief negative review and mentioned that her performance often consisted of her staring at the camera. He'd probably like that aspect but boy, I can't imagine Ms. Ferguson ever having an easier acting paycheck.