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When Chris Pratt was cast in “Guardians of the Galaxy” in 2014, it seemed like a smart counterintuitive decision to bring the goofy sitcom guy from “Parks and Recreation” into a Marvel Cinematic Universe blockbuster. Now 12 years later, any resemblance to the goofy sitcom guy is almost entirely gone, and Pratt is a one-note grim action hero, not only in Marvel movies but also in the “Jurassic World” franchise and forgettable big-budget streaming tentpoles like “The Tomorrow War” and “The Electric State.”
Welcome to Screen, Stream, Skip, a column where Tom's Guide writers check out the latest new theatrical movie releases and then tell you whether they're worth watching on the big screen, waiting for streaming, or can be skipped entirely.
That’s the Pratt who shows up for “Mercy,” a tedious, often laughable sci-fi thriller from director Timur Bekmambetov. Even worse, Pratt’s character Chris Raven spends nearly the entire movie strapped to a chair, squinting and glowering at a fancy computer display featuring a blank-faced Rebecca Ferguson as an AI judge who will determine his fate. “Mercy” doesn’t strictly adhere to the screenlife formula that Bekmambetov pioneered as a producer in films like “Unfriended” and “Searching,” but it does unfold primarily on the giant, dynamic display that Chris watches as he tries to prove his innocence in the murder of his wife.
I saw “Mercy” in IMAX 3D, which was about as pointless as watching a TikTok video on a JumboTron, and just highlights how uninspired this movie is, both visually and narratively. There’s no reason to watch “Mercy” in a premium-format theater ... or in any theater at all. It’s the kind of movie that seems tailor-made for streaming, and since it’s an Amazon MGM Studios production, it’ll eventually end up on Prime Video, which is a much more appropriate place for it.
‘Mercy’ is a sci-fi thriller with no thrills and no big ideas
Like streaming movies that are required to frequently restate the plot, “Mercy” opens with an expository educational video that explains its near-future society. In the Los Angeles of just a few years from now, crime has become so rampant that the local government has instituted a new justice system known as the Mercy Court, where a supposedly impartial AI functions as judge, jury and executioner, and defendants are presumed guilty unless they can prove their innocence.
There’s no indication of how one city managed to entirely invert one of the core tenets of the American justice system, but “Mercy” isn’t interested in complex questions like that. The concept is just a flimsy pretext to get Chris, an LAPD homicide detective, in front of Ferguson’s placid Judge Maddox, who informs him that he has just 90 minutes to reduce the probability of his guilt below a certain threshold.
The wrongfully accused man trying to clear his name is a classic thriller plot, but “Mercy” undermines that entire purpose by keeping Chris glued to a single spot, unable to participate in any of the actual action.
Instead, he issues commands to Maddox, who has access to all technology in the entire city, including every single person’s cell phone, all password-protected computer systems, and any camera anywhere. Like John Cho’s frantic dad looking for his missing daughter in “Searching,” Chris consults various files and records to piece together what really happened to his wife, but it’s all delivered at a distant remove. Even when the investigation escalates to explosions and car chases, they’re presented as something Chris is watching from inside the courtroom, losing any potential visceral excitement.
Pratt’s tough-guy posturing is even more pathetic when he has no other actor physically present to play against, and Ferguson is all too successful at maintaining Maddox’s bland impartiality. “Mercy” has the chance to offer timely critiques of the police state or AI systems, but instead it comes across as enthusiastic support for limitless government surveillance and AI intervention.
I’d call it authoritarian sci-fi if I had any confidence that Bekmambetov or screenwriter Marco van Belle could put forth a cohesive point of view.
Verdict: Have mercy on yourself and skip ‘Mercy’
Part of the reason that “Mercy” is disappointing is because there’s plenty of potential in the screenlife format, especially in capturing the way that people exist online in present-day society. “Unfriended” is one of the best horror movies of the past decade, and both “Searching” and its pseudo-sequel “Missing” are gripping thrillers that smartly use technology to get their characters both into and out of trouble.
The technology in “Mercy” feels false, though, with a mix of modern elements like Instagram and pure sci-fi nonsense. Cho’s character is believably resourceful in “Searching” as he desperately tries to find traces of his missing daughter via her online presence. Maddox is so ridiculously omniscient that there’s no tension to Chris’ own search, just weary obligation.
As Chris races to clear his name and find the real killer, the screen in front of him displays a timer counting down the 90 minutes he has before his automatic execution. I found it a helpful way to gauge how much longer I had to sit through this irritating, poorly conceived movie. Even as background noise on a streaming service, it’s not worth putting yourself through that same experience.
“Mercy” opens January 23 in theaters
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