Almanac Film Reviews: ‘Mercy’ (2026) – A Hot Take on the Future of AI

 

How far is too far?

 

 

 

Mercy hit theatres in January 2026, and is now available to watch on Amazon Prime. A fast-paced sci-fi dystopian thriller starring Chris Pratt and Rebecca Ferguson, Mercy depicts a world in the not-so-distant future where artificial intelligence is the judge, jury and lawyer for both the Defendant and the Applicant. With the film taking place in 2029, roughly three years from now, it begs the question…with AI becoming more and more predominant in our society, are we headed for this dystopian world too?

 

 

Mercy follows Chris Raven, played by Chris Pratt, a Los Angeles police detective who has been accused of murdering his wife and now has 90 minutes to prove his innocence to the presiding ai judge, using only technology and whatever information is uploaded to the municipal cloud. No witnesses, no jury. Just Chris Raven and the Mercy Capital Court ai judge, Maddox (played by Rebecca Ferguson). As Chris races against the clock to prove his innocence, use the available information online to find who really murdered his wife and virtual assistance from his fellow detectives, he simultaneously works to convince the ai that not all facts are black and white, and justice is often found in the grey area. 

 

 

Mercy is a well-written, fast-paced film, wasting no time to get to the action and drama as some films do in an attempt to build up suspense. From the get-go, audiences are told the stakes: Chris Raven is accused of murder, has 90 minutes to prove his innocence or else he will die from a sonic blast at the AI judge’s command. Contrasting between action sequences seen through security cameras and iPhone footage, and the isolating, cold ‘courtroom’ where Chris is locked in, audiences are shown just how dire this situation is. As Chris’s life hangs in the balance, he must rely on the outside world and technology to prove his innocence, without any proper legal assistance, but rather, help from his friends and fellow detectives on the outside of the Mercy Court. 

 

 

The use of lighting in this film was brilliant. Inside the Mercy Court, everything is dark and lifeless, presenting the harsh, cold nature of this new computer-generated legal system which underlines the notion that Maddox, at the end of the day, is a piece of artificial intelligence, and therefore lacks feeling and human emotion. In contrast, the videos and camera footage, FaceTime videos, the world outside of the Mercy Court is brighter, signalling that there is hope for Chris beyond the court’s walls. Furthermore, the cinematography and direction of the action sequences not only increased the sense of urgency of Chris’s situation, but did an excellent job of pulling its audience into the moment. Even sitting in your living room, you could feel the desperation, the cruciality, just from the camera movements alone. 

 

 

Now, let’s talk about Judge Maddox. We see there are some benefits of AI use in court, in terms of easy access to data, information and quick analysis of weapons, surroundings, etc. which enables a case to move faster without the wait time for forensic assessment. However, very quickly the flaws of Maddox and the Mercy Court are exposed. We are told at the beginning of the film that “Mercy does not make mistakes”. However, as Chris Raven’s case goes on, audiences see that the AI judge most certainly has its limits. Maddox admits that the Mercy Court only deals in facts that are black and white, but life does not work that way, as Chris so clearly points out. Chris’s level of guiltiness is predetermined by Maddox before the trial begins, due to all evidence it has access to on its municipal cloud. But Maddox is not God. If information is not uploaded onto the municipal cloud, it therefore does not exist. Maddox does not take into account psychological or emotional reasons for crimes. There is no psychological assessments available for the accused. It does not possess an intuition, which Chris uses throughout the film to work through the case he is presented with. This lacking on Maddox’s part then highlights the true question; how honest is this Mercy Court if it is can be manipulated?

 

 

In today’s climate, we are seeing the rise of AI and big companies benefiting from their induction into various workplaces. Right now, people are finding their jobs replaced with AI, or are being asked to train ai on how to do their jobs so they may be able to do it independently of humans in the future. While we have not reached the level of ai dependence as seen in Mercy, the longer we allow AI to take over our lives, the more at risk we are as a society of turning into a world that solely relies on artificial intelligence to dictate how we live. As Mercy flips between pro and anti-AI use, the overall message seen throughout the film, and most certainly highlighted by the end, is what many of us already believe; AI is a helpful tool, but as it lacks a sense of humanity, it should never replace us humans, and the if we continue to integrate AI into workforces where human emotion and touch is vital, we too may soon find ourselves at AI’s mercy.

 

 

While an entertaining and intriguing film with fantastic cinematography, superb performances by Chris Pratt and Rebecca Ferguson, and an intricate plot, Mercy is a fun watch, filled with a mystery that leaves you questioning who really committed the murder, Mercy is a good film to watch on a weekend where you just want to get lost in other people’s drama.

 

 

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