Review of Mercy rating *****
While this site is dedicated to nonfiction, that doesn’t mean I can’t venture off into other genres now and then. After all, I run the site. I’m a fan of films in general. I saw Project Hail Mary on day one. Great film. I remember reading the book and thinking, how could they possibly turn this into a movie?
I also want to recommend the Chris Pratt film Mercy. This film is original from start to finish. I can just see someone pitching the role to Chris Pratt – Chris, you’re like restrained to a chair for 80% of the film. It’s mostly you and an AI judge and jury. Chris Pratt – I’m in.
I love the idea behind this film. The criminal justice system is now completely taken over by AI. The defendant must present their defense in front of an AI avatar. The AI avatar can instantly pull up surveillance video, documents, phone records, evidence, anything related to the case. I think it’s a glimpse into the future of trials.
In this story, Pratt plays a detective accused of murder. He has to defend himself in 90 minutes, which conveniently passes in real time. In the film industry, they call this high concept. I was instantly hooked once I understood the premise. I loved the way they used the AI judge to present the case against Detective Chris Raven (Chris Pratt). In some scenes the AI recreated entire virtual scenes with Pratt observing from his confined position.
The reason that he is confined to a chair is that if he is found guilty, he is immediately executed. As the AI judge presents the evidence against him, he has to provide credible evidence of his innocence. he is allowed to contact people on the outside who can help him track down leads. The AI judge has a running guilt meter. As evidence is presented the meter for guilt rises and lowers. A guilt probability of 92% or higher results in instant death. So, the film has a built-in time bomb that starts ticking as soon as the film begins.
The film had a 60-million-dollar budget, which it did not recoup at the box office. That is not surprising considering the film was released this past January, and I had never heard of it before reading another reviewer’s review. It is, however, gaining new life on streaming. You can catch this on Amazon prime.