The movie Mercy is a sci-fi thriller about a future where an AI legal system decides whether someone is guilty or innocent. The story surrounds a detective named Chris Raven, who is played by Chris Pratt. He is accused of the crime of murdering his wife, which he argues he didn’t commit. He has only 90 minutes in order to prove his innocence before the system executes him. The movie stars Rebecca Ferguson as Judge Maddox, although Chris Pratt originally suggested creating a fully A.I. actor to play instead.
On Rotten Tomatoes, a movie/TV review website to measure the percentage of positive reviews left by professional movie critics, the movie has a very low critic score, at only 25% based on 173 ratings. This indicates that most professional critics did not enjoy the movie.
Some critics were very harsh in their reviews, such as Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express, who said that “the story-telling is flat; so is everyone on screen.” Similarly, Adam Graham of Detroit News gives Mercy a C-, explaining how the movie starts off well, but gets out of control when “the story gets exponentially ridiculous and characters begin acting erratically” in its final act. Many other reviewers found the plot unoriginal and the characters were not developed well enough.
However, some critics had more positive takes on the movie. Kyle Logan of Chicago Reader says that Mercy is a “can’t-miss event,” especially for an audience who appreciates the screenlife format, which is “an innovative film language that tells a whole narrative within the frames of a computer screen,” as defined by producer Timur Bekmambetov.
Most audience members also enjoyed the action and fast pace more than professional critics did, with a high Popcornmeter score of 83%, a stark contrast from the low Tomatometer. Aidan Seitz, a Centreville High School sophomore, explains that the movie constantly kept him on the edge of his seat with the consistent moments of suspense. Seitz appreciates how the movie reflects important topics around artificial intelligence, like the impacts it can have in the justice system in the future. Ultimately, he would recommend Mercy to others, describing it as “a very exciting movie.”
Although Mercy provides very promising concepts surrounding how society can implement AI into everyday life, movie critics believe that the idea was squandered with bad execution and acting. Thus, most critics are unanimous in the conclusion that Mercy isn’t a worthwhile watch, and should turn away from paying over thirty-dollars for movie tickets and concessions.
