Mercy...You'll Be Begging For It

Chris Pratt & Rebecca Ferguson in Mercy (2026)

Let's start this review by saying: It's January. You can't expect much, but I aim to be fair.

Sure, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is getting great reviews, but it isn't the norm for this time of year.

Which brings us to Mercy. Oh boy.

Let's do this...sigh...

Maybe Rebecca Ferguson has been told, "Just agree to any and every movie." And there is zero wrong with that. Even Michael Caine has taken movies strictly for the check.

Michael Caine is Jaws: The Revenge

But when you DO these types of movies, it shouldn't be too surprising to hear it stinks.

Let's start with the good:

Rebecca is excellent as always. Her emotive face and strong delivery make her performance stand out, even when playing a stoic AI judge.

The movie is 95 minutes, which is a plus because you're not being asked to sacrifice your life for a ho-hum film. This pacing might appeal to viewers who prefer concise, fast-paced stories.

But the bad:

Although the plot draws on a pretty good source (Minority Report), it's also a fairly poor derivative of it. There's zero wrong with updating an older movie with more modern tech and switching around a few plot points...but make them make sense.

In this movie (no spoilers), one is put on trial (death penalty case, mind you) and given NINETY MINUTES to avoid execution. Ninety minutes. Ninety minutes to decide if someone is executed or not.

Ninety minutes...come on, man

Now I get it. The movie is only 90 minutes long, so the audience is asked to experience this in real time to build the tension. But believability is one thing for imprisonment and another for execution. lol...like be for real.

God bless Chris Pratt. He has strong comedic skills. Even in Zero Dark Thirty, he plays to his charm. But this movie is like watching Glen Powell in The Running Man. I can't take it seriously. These guys don't have the grit about them. And that's ok...just not in these types of movies.

The movie is relatively easy to figure out. You know how it is likely to end. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but when you're not given much else to care about in the movie, it can lead to boredom.

I wouldn't pay full price for this movie. I wouldn't even pay the $5-6 special days either. Wait for streaming, you'll thank me for it. 2.5/5