Mercy (2026) Amazon MGM/Sci-Fi-Action RT: 100 minutes Rated PG-13 (violence, bloody images, some strong language, drug content) Director: Timur Bekmambetov Screenplay: Marco van Belle Music: Ramin Djawadi Cinematography: Khalid Mohtaseb Release date: January 23, 2026 (US) Cast: Chris Pratt, Rebecca Ferguson, Kali Reis, Annabelle Wallis, Kylie Rogers, Chris Sullivan, Jeff Pierre, Rafi Gavron, Kenneth Choi, Jamie McBride, Ross John Gosla.
Rating: ** ½
All signs pointed to Mercy being a stinker. It was supposed to come out last August before being bumped to a January release date. That typically spells trouble. There was something else though, something I’ve never encountered before. It was this past week’s AMC Screen Unseen/Regal Mystery Movie feature presentation. However, it was presented exclusively in IMAX. I couldn’t understand why it wasn’t on the schedule at my local AMC until I learned this tidbit of info. If you’ve seen the ads for Mercy, you know the studio is aggressively pushing audiences to see it in IMAX or 3D (or both) even though it hardly deserves the Avatar treatment. Don’t you see it? It’s a marketing ploy designed to increase box office by convincing viewers to shell out the additional money. Now that’s what I call shameless. Whether it works or not remains to be seen.
By all accounts, Mercy should be a bad movie. That’s what I expected as I entered the cinema where I saw the abysmal Return to Silent Hill the day before. I steeled myself for a similar experience as I took my usual seat. Then a funny thing happened. I started enjoying Mercy. By no means is it a great movie or even a particularly good one. It definitely doesn’t need to be seen in IMAX or 3D. It’s shallow when it comes to exploring its deeper themes regarding AI and the dangers of becoming too reliant on it. It is, however, entertaining on a surface level. The storyline held my interest throughout. That’s more than I can say for the previous night’s film.
In the future depicted in Mercy, justice is handled by an AI program called the Mercy Court. Defendants are taken before a virtual judge where they are given 90 minutes to prove their innocence. They can review footage, examine crime scenes and talk to potential witnesses. If they can’t get their guilt level under 92%, they’re found guilty and executed on the spot. Basically, we’re looking at a judge, jury and executioner situation here.
LAPD Detective Chris Raven (Pratt, Guardians of the Galaxy 1-3) finds himself before AI Judge Maddow (Ferguson, Mission: Impossible- Rogue Nation) accused of murdering his wife Nicole (Wallis, Malignant) in their home. All evidence points to him as the killer. He claims he’s innocent. His guilt level is at 97.5%. He must prove his innocence before the clock runs out.
Most of Mercy consists of Raven strapped in a chair looking at screens while Maddox looks on emotionlessly. Being a machine, she only cares about facts and what can be proven. He frantically reviews footage looking for other suspects and a possible motive. His partner Jaq (Reis, True Detective) does all the leg work. He keeps calling his teen daughter Britt (Rogers, Yellowstone) who doesn’t know what to believe. During his investigation, Raven uncovers secrets about people he thought he knew. It leads to a shocking discovery.
The whodunit part of Mercy isn’t all that difficult. I was able to identify the true killer fairly early on. It’s the why that’s a surprise. And that’s not even the “shocking discovery” I mentioned earlier although it’s still a shock. No, the motive reveal is followed by something else. SPOILER ALERT! I’ll say just one word: cover-up. Isn’t there always? Anyway, that’s the “shocking discovery”.
Directed by Timur Bekmambetov (Searching), Mercy unfolds in real time much like the underrated thriller Nick of Time (1995). We’re with the protagonist every second of the way as he attempts to get to the truth of matter before his time runs out. I’ll grant that watching somebody look at footage isn’t the most exciting thing in the world. It is, however, compelling. Mercy plays more like a police procedural with its depiction of how a murder investigation might play out in the near future.
It’s actually scary if you think about it. What happens when AI starts taking over? What happens to the justice system should somebody decide to automate it? The Constitution says that everybody is entitled to due process. I don’t see that here. Where is Raven’s lawyer? That’s an inalienable right. What happens, does that go out the window in favor of efficiency and expediency? The thoughts that I just expressed here are more than you’ll find in Mercy. It barely scratches the surface. The best sci-fi movies have something to say. This one doesn’t find the words.
The performances are okay, I suppose. That is to say, they’re not bad. Pratt does a passable job as a cop and family man struggling with alcoholism. He looks sufficiently panicked as he tries to deal with a frame-up that could cost him his life. Ferguson plays it perfectly as the AI judge, cold and emotionless. Some might criticize her performance based on that. I say it’s precisely why it works. Rogers is pretty good as the rebellious teen daughter with secrets of her own.
Mercy contains a few decent action scenes including an exciting chase in the climax. I like some of the futuristic touches like the flying police cycles. Like I said, it’s really not that bad of a movie. Sure, it’s highly derivative of movies like Minority Report, Judge Dredd and Runaway (the one with Tom Selleck and Gene Simmons). So what? You can’t expect anything too great from movies that come out this time of year. It’s entertaining enough if you accept it on its own superficial terms.
