Lord Have ‘Mercy’: Chris Pratt Stumbles in an AI-Sympathising, So-called Thriller

Warning: Spoilers Ahead (reading this review is probably a more exciting alternative than actually watching the film).

When one of the first lines of a movie is “subjects are presumed guilty until proven innocent,” it’s going to be a long 100 minutes. 

In the near future, when the United States’ justice system is replaced by AI, the only man who could save Los Angeles is physically stationary — and emotionally stagnant — Chris Pratt.

In “The Hangover” for “9-1-1” fans, Officer Christopher Raven, played by Pratt (“Guardians of the Galaxy,” “The Super Mario Bros. Movie”), mysteriously wakes up in the courtroom of Judge Maddox, an artificial intelligence program pioneered by Raven himself. Accused of his wife’s murder, Chris only has 90 minutes to prove his innocence or else he’ll be executed.

Pretty high stakes, right? Yeah, it would be if Pratt wasn’t sitting down for the majority of the movie. 

A la the recent adaptation of “War of the Worlds,” most of the action in “Mercy” takes place through a screen, with Officer Raven using voice commands to prove his case. To “Mercy”’s credit, while “War of the Worlds” was presented on a simple desktop computer, director Timur Bekmambetov graciously upgraded to an experience reminiscent of the Apple Vision Pro.

Yet somehow they made a glorified screen recording motion sickness-inducing with dizzying swoops across the screen, supposedly mirroring Raven’s hectic navigation of a police database.  With this degree of jarring editing and frantic camera work, be sure to pack a doggy bag — especially if you see it in 3D.

What might be even worse than its technical aspects, the film’s two central characters give performances as dynamic as a Michael Myers mask. Opposite Pratt as AI Judge Maddox is Rebecca Ferguson, who really sold the whole menacing cyborgian Elizabeth Holmes act. 

Unfortunately, Ferguson’s (“A House of Dynamite,” “The Greatest Showman”)  limited range of static movements was bested by Pratt, who had two whole different facial expressions.

Viewers could save themselves the torment of being subjected to a close-up of Chris Pratt’s face for over an hour and a half by simply taping a photo of him to their face — it would probably give the same amount of pleasure either way. 

Honestly, the Jennifer Aniston mask in “Bugonia” gave a more exciting portrayal than the two of them combined. 

Although it wasn’t marketed as a comedy, the theater erupted in laughter at various parts throughout the film, like when Officer Raven’s sidekick, Jaq (Kali Reis), mounts an Amazon delivery drone-looking hovercraft. 

The screenplay is also hilariously subpar, especially in its development of Pratt’s character. It’s hard to root for the protagonist when he’s an aggressive alcoholic whose entire relationship with his family is characterized by daily, belligerent bouts of drunken shouting directed at his wife. 

Perhaps its greatest fault is its mindboggling support for AI. Over the course of the “Mercy,” the only reason Officer Raven is stuck in the chair — the film’s primary obstacle — is because Judge Maddox is unable to exhibit the human emotion of empathy because she’s AI. Yet by the end, when it looks like Raven’s kid is about to die, Maddox suddenly gains emotional intelligence and remotely saves her. 

If that wasn’t bad enough, one of Pratt’s final lines is “Humans or AI — we all make mistakes, and we learn.” Unfortunately, his back was turned to the camera when he delivered this lukewarm line, but I’d like to imagine he had a Debby Ryan smirk on his face.

One of the only positive pieces of criticism that can be thrust towards this sorry excuse for a feature film is the fact that there’s constantly a countdown timer in the top right of the screen, allowing the audience to track when they can finally be put out of their misery.

Like one extra-long, high-budget video game cutscene, “Mercy” is best skipped.

“Mercy” is now, unfortunately, playing in theaters.