Mercy Review
This weekend the latest sci-fi action thriller, Mercy starring Chris Pratt and Rebecca Ferguson drops in theaters. This is an interesting film because the big sell of the marketing is discussing how cool this movie is in IMAX and 3D. Is the movie actually good and worth experiencing on an IMAX screen in 3D? Plus, for a January release is it any good? Let’s talk about it!
The Good
Right out of the gate this movie has a very interesting and intriguing premise. If you don’t know what this film is about, Chris Pratt plays this guy who’s framed for killing his wife and has 90 minutes to prove that he’s innocent. But the hook is that he has proved himself guilty to this AI judge played by Rebecca Ferguson. If he doesn’t do so in 90 minutes then he dies, if he can he walks. The film is mixing together a few different genres with action, mystery, and screen life. If you don’t know what screen life is it’s basically this type of movie that takes place on a computer screen. Anything the main character sees, the audience sees. This movie is doing something similar where while Pratt is chained up to this chair, he’s able to access every digital file, every social media account, every cellphone to try and figure out what happened. Everything that Pratt sees and hears, the audience also sees and hears. The film had an intriguing premise that made me curious to check this movie out.
For the most part the film does a good job of keeping you intrigued and engaged. We’ll talk about the ending later on in this review, but the first ⅔ of the film was engaging to me. I was invested in the mystery of what’s going on and figuring out with Pratt if he really did it. I do think the basic premise of it being told in real time with Pratt in every single scene of the film, it makes you more immersed in the story. Because the film doesn’t have any extra subplots. The movie stars and Pratt is chained to this chair. It’s a film that’s not moving your direction away from things and having you focus on things you weren’t otherwise interested in. Because of that, the film sort of forces you to be engaged with what’s happening. Because Pratt and the audience are seeing the information you’re piecing things together at the same time that Pratt is. This kind of surprised me about the film because when the first trailer dropped I thought to myself, that looks intriguing but it seems like it’ll work better in a short. The film I think worked as a feature length film. I didn’t think there was anything that needed to be cut from the film. I’ll say this about the film as well, when it was finished several people in my audience started clapping. Not everybody, but a good portion of the audience did seem to enjoy the film.
Going back to what I just said, but the film doesn’t overstay its welcome. The trial is 90 minutes long, the film is a bit longer when counting credits and other stuff. The film moves quickly and there’s plenty of thrilling moments or action scenes to keep the film moving at a nice pace. I was never bored watching the film, the third act came closer then I thought it was going to. I’m going to have plenty to say in the negative section, but I did have a good time with this movie. If this movie dropped on streaming and a family member or a friend wanted to watch it, I’d be totally fine with that.
Finally, our two lead actors, Chris Pratt and Rebecca Ferguson do a solid job. Other characters are in the film but 90% of the film literally just Pratt and Ferguson interacting and talking. They’re both solid lead actors that can command the screen and lead a movie like this. It’s a very interesting and different performance by Pratt because he’s not doing this normal thing. We’re so used to seeing him as Star-Lord and other flamboyant characters that are funny and quirky. This movie performance requires him to do the opposite of that. There’s a few jokes here and there but the performance isn’t leaning to Pratt’s normal performance tropes. I don’t say that as a negative, I like that he’s doing something different. With his performance he’s a man who he believes to be innocent and he has several scenes where he’s breaking down and crying and this guy under immense amounts of pressure, and he does it convincingly. The standout performance is Rebecca Ferguson as the AI Judge, Maddox. It’s no surprise that Ferguson is great, she’s great in everything she does. The character doesn’t have a flashy personality or anything, so she’s not the most exciting character. But for who the character is and the type of performance that’s required from her she does a good job.
The Bad
With a movie like that’s built around the mystery and the intrigue of what’s going on, the whole movie rests on the shoulders of the final answers of the film. Unfortunately, I didn’t think the final reveal and the answers were fully satisfying. There’s two big issues with the final reveals of the film. First up, it strains an enormous amount of credibility when you know what happened and why. There’s so many things that had to happen at just the right moment and line up perfectly in order for this whole thing to happen. Where I sort of rolled my eyes at the stupidity of certain things that didn’t make sense and pulled me out of the film. Second, the motivation of the killer starts to turn into a soapbox of issues with AI and the judicial system. The killer starts preaching to the characters and the audience about the dangers of AI and it sort of comes out of nowhere. It also ties into police brutality and the dangers of crime in the real world. While these ideas are prevalent in today’s society, it didn’t come naturally and organically in this film as I think the screenwriters and directors were thinking.
It’s not just the final answers that feel convoluted; the whole movie can feel convoluted at several different points in the film. There’s this idea presented here that every cell phone had to release any videos, pictures, phone calls, voice recordings, etc to the government in case they’re needed during the trial, and that’s how Pratt is able to access a bunch of evidence to help him in the film. There’s multiple videos that Pratt is watching that feels so convoluted that that character would be filming something randomly at that exact moment to give Pratt a clue. That’s what’s frustrating about the film, the film has this intriguing premise and hook to it, that it never fully delivers on. The film is never as smart as it thinks it is. I don’t really wanna say anything else without going into spoilers but there’s also some big twists and turns in the third act that sort of come out of nowhere and don’t make much sense at all. Once again, this goes back to the idea of the film not being as smart and clever as it thinks it is.
Finally, the film was heavily marketed as a film that is must see in IMAX and 3D. The trailers, the marketing, and Chris Pratt himself were pushing this narrative. I saw this movie at a secret screening back on Monday and it was in IMAX 3D, and…there’s absolutely no need to go see this movie in that format. I figured this was going to be the case because 90% of the movie is just Chris Pratt strapped to a chair. There’s a few action and chase scenes in the film, most of them told through the body cam, but that’s about it. I found the IMAX and 3D gimmick to be jarring and confusing. What I mean by that is, because the action and chase scenes are told through body cams, the 3D gimmick doesn’t work because you can’t really see what’s going on because the camera is constantly moving up and down. If you’re interested in this movie just pay normal admission, there’s no reason to spend the extra money and see it in IMAX or 3D.
Final Thoughts: Overall, for better or for worse, Mercy is sort of exactly what I thought it would be. It’s a totally fine generic big budget action thriller that has nothing really special to offer. There’s a unique concept in here, two actors that I really like, but all packaged in a film with a script that’s not as smart as it thinks it is. If you’re interested in this movie, either pay a matinee or discount Tuesday price or just wait till streaming.
The Score: 7.7/10 (C+)
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