I had hoped against hope a little with Mercy. It was directed by Bekmambetov (who has made some wonderful films), stars the insanely watchable Rebecca Ferguson, and is premise, about an AI justice system was poised to raise some fairly fascinating questions that I thought were ripe for a sci fi exploration. Sadly, Bekmambetov and Ferguson as pretty much phoning it in and the film abandons any real deconstruction of what an AI justice system could mean (beyond the most surface examination) early on. In the end it almost feels like its endorsing the idea. Im sure Sarah Connor is rolling over in her grave.
But if you throw all that aside, Mercy ends up having a rather decent mystery and its wrapped up in a generally fun package. Mekmambetov may have moved into a rather director-for-hire stance but he still knows how to tell a story. Mercy shares more in common with his screenlife films (Searching, Missing, etc.) than the Nightwatch/Daywatch movies that broke him into western audiences' consciousness. It's realtime gimmick and fairly competent mystery keep you entertaining for the films relatively short runtime. And I guess there is nothing wrong with that.
I just kinda wish it had been what it promised to be and really dug into the complexities of integrating AI in to the decision making of a system whose role is to reduce crime/and or hold people accountable for their actions. But don't go into this thinking you'll get any of that.
Mercy
Starring: Chris Pratt, Rebecca Ferguson, Kali Reis, Annabelle Wallis, Chris Sullivan, Kylie Rogers
Director: Timur Bekmambetov
Writers: Marco van Belle
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