Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
Set in a slightly dystopian future, the 2026 thriller ‘Mercy’ follows Chris Pratt as detective Chris Raven, who wakes up in court, set to face trial for murdering his wife. Unfortunately, he doesn’t remember much but must prove his innocence within 90 minutes to AI Judge Maddox (Rebecca Ferguson) or be prepared for a death sentence that will be executed as soon as he is declared guilty.
Phew! This was a stressful experience. But points to director Timur Bekmambetov and writer Marco van Belle for making ‘Mercy’ a chaotically entertaining watch that unfolds like you’re witnessing someone streaming a thriller video game. Chris Raven is the main player, racing against time to gather evidence to point to a different killer for wife Nicole’s (Annabelle Wallis) death.
The story centers on the concept of a “Mercy” court, where an AI judge serves as judge, jury, and executioner in cases involving violent capital offenders, aiming to reduce lengthy trials. The narrative is also set in a surveillance state, where those on trial have access to all sorts of evidence, including phone records, CCTV footage, and virtually any kind of digital footprint, both live and recorded. The accused is also allowed to video call anyone they choose during the 90-minute trial. All of this is quickly explained in an ad-like opening sequence of the film.
In a clever twist of irony, Detective Chris Raven standing trial for murder is shown to be among the earliest proponent of the “Mercy” court, only to now face the very system he championed. So in the first minutes of his trial, he tries to argue about his track record with Judge Maddox. The film is at its strongest during the uneasy courtroom exchange between Chris and AI Judge Maddox, as circumstantial evidence mounts to suggest there’s over a 97% chance he murdered his wife.
Now objectively, 90 minutes for a murder trial is insane. But ‘Mercy’ plays like a video game anyway, so I stopped expecting realism and started enjoying its over the top AI trial. As Judge Maddox, Rebecca Ferguson is a scene-stealer (just like in the ‘Dune’ films), delivering an AI that feels unnervingly alive, its quick-evolving sense of reasoning blurring the line between code and conscience.
For most of the runtime, the film hinges on a simple question: did Chris murder his wife, or is he trying to outsmart the system? Chris Pratt plays Detective Raven as overconfident and abrasive, hardly an easy character to root for, especially when incriminating footage shows him being outright awful to his wife shortly before her death. Throw in a drinking problem and visible anger issues, and his swift entry into a 90-minute murder trial starts to make sense.
In some parts, especially in the first half, ‘Mercy’ feels like a familiar techno-thriller (think ‘M3GAN’ or ‘Margaux’) ready to paint AI as a blunt, villainous force incapable of matching human nuance. But by the end, despite some exaggerated turns, it offers a more balanced take on the pros and cons of integrating AI into everyday life.
Visually, Mercy isn’t as slick as you might expect, but as mentioned earlier, it plays more like a tumultuous action video game with a story mode that leans heavily on dialogue. The final minutes introduce a major twist that shifts attention away from the trial, and while it adds momentum and makes the climax more action-driven, it also feels somewhat contrived.
In the end, it’s a decent one-time watch that offers a glimpse into what life could look like if criminal justice were handed over to AI in the not-too-distant future.
Watch ‘Mercy’ on Prime Video.
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