REVIEW: ‘Mercy’ has a rough script but offers some schlocky fun

Chris Pratt may not have his Guardians of the Galaxy starship in this flick, but he’s still working with some high-tech equipment.

Pratt stars as Chris Raven in “Mercy,” a Los Angeles Police Department detective who was a major advocate in creating an artificial intelligence program that handles court cases as a way to expedite the judicial process. The effort has ramped up convictions with 90-minute trials, where a person has a chance to prove their innocence.

If their evidence is insufficient, the AI program, taking the appearance of a woman dubbed Judge Maddox (Rebecca Ferguson), will exact justice. For a murder case, that includes execution. Unfortunately for the detective, he wakes up suddenly needing to mount a defense for a murder he claims he didn’t commit.

As a film attempting to comment on sociopolitical matters related to police misconduct, threats of AI, courtroom biases and overall problems in the justice system, “Mercy” is pretty much a failure.  The script, penned by Marco van Belle, at many points comes across as amateurish, seeming more like a mishmash of ideas littered with generic dialogue.

Directed by Timur Bekmambetov, “Mercy” has a familiar story, as the idea of a cop being framed for something they didn’t do isn’t quite new. The flick plays out as one would expect, with more technobabble thrown in to make some points about AI and digitization. It’s not exactly a rich cinematic experience.

But while it falls flat in its attempt to be a hard-hitting crime drama with biting commentary, the movie isn’t the biggest misfire. Despite its detriments, as a schlocky, campy blend of police procedural and sci-fi action flick, “Mercy” has some entertainment value.

The film gives the audience a running clock to the protagonist’s execution, so a race against time is established, which is enough of a hook to snag a person’s attention. From there, it’s typical detective fair: digging for evidence, questioning witnesses, connecting dots.

The difference is the lead on the case is sitting in a remote place reviewing findings on holograms, but there’s still enough to be engaged with.

That means things like chases or action aren’t as prominent. Plus, the movie gets extremely silly as a result of its technology presented. The film already doesn’t make a lot of sense, considering instituting what’s included in this universe would mean shredding parts of the Constitution beyond L.A. So, the digital elements just compound some of the nonsensical bits.

But, again, there’s some bit of endearment in viewing the movie as just cinematic schlock. There’s some fun to be had with how over-the-top it gets.

Pratt’s screen presence helps a bit, too. There has been some fatigue with him because of Marvel and the “Jurassic” series, not to mention last year’s “Electric State,” but he separates himself just enough here and bring some charisma helping this thing chug along.

What really doesn’t work as well is the being opposite of Pratt’s character. Judge Maddox is a bit of a disaster in terms of a character. The creative team was inconsistent in the AI, as there are times Maddox says they are completely without emotion, but there are moments where they have small gestures or expressions that point otherwise.

If it’s supposed to be a complete, blank slate type of AI, make it so. Give it more of a HAL 9000 vibe. If it’s supposed to be more self-aware and able to express, have it be like that from the start. Throw in some information about it being a learning AI that can understand humans, “T2” style.

So, yeah, “Mercy” has quite a few stumbles. In all honesty, an 18-minute short film from 2020, “Please Hold,” also a sci-fi about someone wrongly accused, did this type of premise much better. Still, for its cheesy entertainment, including a bombastic (if not ridiculous) finale, “Mercy” has a hint of strange sci-fi charm. 2.5 out of 5.