Look, we’ve all seen the “man vs machine” setup before. But Mercy hits different.
The premise is simple but brutal: A detective accused of murdering his wife has exactly 90 minutes to convince an AI judge—one he helped create—that he’s innocent. No jury. No human emotion. Just cold, hard logic and a ticking clock.
What Works
The tension is chef’s kiss. Every minute counts, and you feel it. The film doesn’t waste time on unnecessary backstory or slow burns. From minute one, you’re locked in a courtroom watching a man fight for his life against an algorithm that doesn’t care about tears or pleas.
The AI judge itself is fascinating. It’s not some evil robot overlord—it’s just doing what it was programmed to do: analyze evidence, calculate probabilities, deliver verdicts. That’s what makes it terrifying. There’s no villain to outsmart, just a system that might be too perfect.
The lead performance is solid. You can see the desperation, the frustration of trying to reason with something that doesn’t feel. It’s like arguing with a customer service chatbot, except your life depends on it.
What Doesn’t
The pacing stumbles in the middle. There’s a stretch where the detective rehashes evidence we’ve already seen, and it drags. For a movie built on urgency, those 15 minutes feel like filler.
Also, if you’re expecting big action sequences or explosions, this ain’t it. Mercy is a courtroom drama dressed in sci-fi clothes. It’s dialogue-heavy, cerebral, and lowkey claustrophobic. Some people will love that. Others might check their phones.
The Verdict
Is Mercy worth your time? If you’re into tense, thought-provoking thrillers that make you question the future of justice, absolutely. It’s not perfect, but it’s smart, timely, and way more engaging than half the generic action flicks flooding theaters right now.
Rating: 7/10 — Solid watch, especially if you’re a sci-fi nerd or just tired of mindless blockbusters.
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