NEW YORK (OSV News) – With apologies to pulp fiction crime writer Mickey Spillane, the dystopian thriller “Mercy” (Amazon MGM) might more aptly be called AI the Jury. That’s because, in the film’s near-future setting, artificial intelligence is empowered to fight crime by generating a rough sort of justice.
As explained in the opening scenes, societal breakdown has led to the establishment of the ironically named court system of the title. Within it, the burden falls on defendants to prove their innocence within a mere 90 minutes though they are given full access to the vast amount of information the AI, which does double duty as the presiding judge, can muster during that time.
Such is the plight in which Los Angeles police Det. Chris Raven (Chris Pratt) finds himself as the action gets rolling. Awakening from a drunken bender, Chris — who has fallen off the wagon after a period of sobriety — finds himself on trial before a virtual magistrate called Maddox (Rebecca Ferguson) charged with the brutal murder of his wife, Nicole (Annabelle Wallis).
As Chris scrambles to avoid a guilty verdict and immediate execution, he’s aided by his partner, Jacqueline “Jaq” Diallo (Kali Reis) and by Rob Nelson (Chris Sullivan), his Alcoholics Anonymous sponsor. Yet Chris’ emotionally torn teen daughter Britt (Kylie Rogers) wavers in her support.
An occasionally irritating tone and passages of awkward writing detract from the reasonably interesting mystery tale at the heart of director Timur Bekmambetov’s crime drama.
Whenever Marco van Belle’s script ventures into philosophical questions about the differences between humans and machines or the line between justice and vengeance or strains for real-world relevance, moreover, the results feel feeble. Still, following the trail of clues will likely prove diverting for viewers mature enough to handle some coarse material along the way.
The film contains mostly stylized but sometimes harsh violence, drug use, about a dozen profanities, several milder oaths, at least one rough term and frequent crude and crass language. The OSV News classification is A-III — adults. The Motion Picture Association rating is PG-13 — parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.
Read More Movie & TV Reviews
Copyright © 2026 OSV News
