The Stream: Bad dialogue is laughable at times.

The Big Screen: The fast-paced plot keeps you engaged.

The Final Bill: Minority Report meets Searching is a pretty entertaining concept.

– Trip Fontaine
Director: Timur Bekmambetov
Writers: Marco van Belle
Stars: Chris Pratt, Rebecca Ferguson, Kali Reis, Chris Sullivan
Genre: Action, Crime, Thriller, Sci-Fi
Rating: PG-13 for violence, bloody images, some strong language, drug content and teen smoking.
Runtime: 1 hour 32 minutes
Production Companies: Amazon MGM Studios, Atlas Entertainment, Bazelevs Entertainment, Big Indie Pictures
Platform: In theaters January 23, 2026
Notable Trailers: Send Help, The Odyssey, Michael, Disclosure Day, The Bride, Masters of the Universe, Crime 101

What’s up, Streamers! Here’s a non-Marvel Chris Pratt movie that didn’t go directly to some streaming service, but should it have? In Mercy, Pratt stars as Chris Raven, a Los Angeles detective and strong proponent of the newly developed Mercy Court, which uses AI judges to put defendants on trial for violent crimes. When Chris gets arrested and put on trial by the Mercy Court for the murder of his estranged wife, he must use all of the evidence available to the Mercy Court to prove his innocence to his AI judge, Judge Maddox (Rebecca Ferguson), before his 90-minute trial concludes or he will be immediately executed. Guilty until proven innocent hijinks ensue.

Mercy has an intriguing premise since we are all concerned about how AI will take over various aspects of the world. Can AI really deliver justice and conduct a fair trial? This movie seems to have taken concepts from Minority Report and merged them with technology from Searching in order to make some commentary on the perils of using AI in the criminal justice system. Those films do a better and more original job of introducing the themes that Mercy also tries to depict. While Mercy has interesting visual effects and is a fast-paced sci-fi, thriller, the premise itself feels derivative and hokey. As much as there is tension as Chris conducts his investigation, the outcome is fairly obvious. The film’s point of view about the use of AI in this way is boldfaced and underlined throughout. Moreover, the dialogue is bad, and Chris Pratt’s performance is pretty one-note. Rebecca Ferguson is a fun presence as the AI Judge Maddox, but she is limited by the nature of her role. At least, the short runtime keeps the movie moving towards its resolution and allows the audience to be swept along with it.

Ultimately, Mercy is a decent sci-fi thriller that has an interesting concept even though it borrows liberally from better movies like Minority Report and Searching. This movie has a fast pace and good visual effects that will hold the audience’s attention. While the dialogue is bad and Chris Pratt’s performance is lacking, the high concept of the movie is the real star, and it delivers enough intrigue to be worthy of seeing. Mercy would be a good streaming movie with a bowl of popcorn, but a trip to the theater is unnecessary.