MCU star Chris Pratt does battle with artificial intelligence in the sci-fi action thriller, Mercy, which has landed a Digital streaming release less than a month after hitting theaters. Taking a screenlife approach to the action thrills, Mercy finds Pratt strapped to a chair and facing Dune star Rebecca Ferguson’s AI Judge Maddox, with the former Star-Lord given just 90 minutes to prove his innocence after being accused of murdering his wife.
Directed by Timur Bekmambetov and starring Chris Pratt and Rebecca Ferguson alongside Kali Reis, Annabelle Wallis, Chris Sullivan, Kylie Rogers, Kenneth Choi, Rafi Gavron, and Jeff Pierre, Mercy was released in theaters only 26 days ago, and has already landed in your home via Digital Streaming, with platforms such as Amazon now listing the action thriller for rental and purchase. You can check out the official synopsis, as well as how and why reactions were seriously divided, below…
In the near future, a detective (Chris Pratt) stands on trial accused of murdering his wife. He has 90 minutes to prove his innocence to the advanced A.I. Judge (Rebecca Ferguson) he once championed, before it determines his fate.
‘Mercy’ Is Surely Destined to Become a Streaming Hit
Amazon MGM Studios
While Mercy certainly has an interesting hook, it was found guilty by critics, with the action sci-fi thriller landing a savage 24% on Rotten Tomatoes. However, while Mercy did bomb at the box office after grossing just $53 million against a reported $60 million budget, the action outing caused a divide in reactions, with the movie now standing at an impressive 83% from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes’ Popcornmeter.
Critics did not take kindly to director Timur Bekmambetov’s (who was also partly responsible for Amazon’s abysmal screenlife rendition of the science fiction classic War of the Worlds) isolating approach to this AI tale, with the consensus taking issue with how Mercy constricts its two Hollywood heavy-hitters “inside an airless presentation of a clunky techno-thriller premise, Mercy is tedious enough to make you cry uncle.” MovieWeb’s own Mark Keizer, meanwhile, found little to enjoy, and hopes it’s the last time we have to watch “a popular actor sitting in a chair for 90 minutes.”
The second and hopefully last in a series of recent films featuring a popular actor sitting in a chair for 90 minutes, Mercy has much in common with last year’s Amazon commercial-cum-Ice Cube hostage tape, War of the Worlds. Not only are both films lamentable throwaways, but they were both produced by Timur Bekmambetov in an attempt to further indulge his bizarre fascination with screenlife thrillers, where audiences stare at a big screen to watch someone else stare at a smaller screen.
However, in stark contrast, audiences declared Mercy “Pratt-tastic” before praising this “high-concept whodunit for anyone who enjoys an edge-of-your seat, popcorn-fueled experience.” Based on this assessment, and regardless of how critics took to the action flick, Mercy is surely destined to become a streaming hit for those looking for some high-concept sci-fi thrills. No doubt a sequel will be announced imminently.
Release Date
January 19, 2026
Runtime
100 minutes
Director
Timur Bekmambetov
Writers
Marco van Belle
Producers
Charles Roven, Majd Nassif, Robert Amidon, Timur Bekmambetov
