By Dwight Brown
Contributing Writer
At the beginning of the ground-breaking horror film “28 Days Later,” a bicycle courier is involved in a near-fatal accident, comatose and wakes up in a hospital bed to discover that London is empty. A shocker opening.
In “Mercy,” which opened in theaters Jan. 23, artificial intelligence becomes judge, jury and executioner using a similar gimmick: Detective Chris Raven (played by Chris Pratt) awakens and finds he’s in a world of trouble. He’s facing Judge Maddox (played by Rebecca Ferguson), an artificial intelligence entity that has charged him with the murder of his wife (played by Annabelle Wallis). And if he can’t acquit himself in 90 minutes, he’ll be executed.
Screenwriter Marco van Belle, who’s written short films but not feature ones, concocted that fairly compelling premise. But his lack of feature film experience might explain why his storyline starts with a bang, builds somewhat and then has ups and downs.
Raven is on a time crunch to discover who killed his wife and unraveling that mystery has a natural momentum and could engage an audience’s curiosity. That’s a positive. Boringly, the detective stays marooned in a chair. That’s a negative.
Maddox gives him access to the city’s municipal cloud, databases and digital files. That’s a plus. Most of the characters are unlikable. That’s a negative. The bad points don’t outweigh the good ones.
It’s up to director Timur Bekmambetov, most known for vampire movies (“Night Watch” and “Day Watch”), to make what’s on the screen more fascinating than what’s on the page. Conveying the narrative on monitors, police cams, doorbell cameras and smartphone faces makes what’s on view as immersive as it can be. But not enough to warrant the film’s 3-D format.
When the graphics are interspersed with flashbacks and live-action scenes, it’s helpful. Helpful in a way that could make the barrage of eye candy appealing to tech worms, Gen Z and others who flit from screen to screen.
The onslaught of images is not fine-tuned or artsy. Not like those in Christopher Nolan’s Oscar-winning film “Oppenheimer.” Never stunningly lit, composed or strikingly colorful, they are more like a standard Hollywood production that’s just a couple of levels above a B-movie. That said, the incessant parade of visions has a rhythmic feel, just enough to keep viewers engaged.
The year is 2029. Humans have championed an artificial intelligence system named Mercy. Maddox reigns over “Mercy Capital Court.” Those who have committed crimes or been accused of such, tremble as the tech being readies its verdict.
Themes of human instinct and feelings versus the cold logic of computer programs aren’t exactly original. The sci-fi-classic “2001” was one. “Mercy” is not in that league. But fortunately, the subject of artificial intelligence dominance, the kind that eats humans’ jobs, couldn’t be more topical.
Below the surface of this thin thriller plot are some hard, scary truths about artificial intelligence threatening the future of humanity.
For those watching from the front row or tuning in late night on Prime Video, there’s enough action to keep the energy level up. When Raven’s partner Jacqueline ‘JAQ’ Diallo (played by Kali Reis) mounts her hoverbike and flies over slow L.A. traffic there’s reason to be fascinated and jealous. Fights, shootouts, truck/car chases and explosions are prevalent. Prevalent but not ingenious.
Fans expecting Chris Pratt to do his action/adventure/superhero thing, will be disappointed. He’s in timeout.
He is strapped to his seat for most of the footage with no trace of that smug fun attitude he displays in “Guardians of the Galaxy.” When the camera closes in on his face, he does emote. But not in a riveting way.
His lack of mobility isn’t a good excuse. In the movie “The Sea Inside,” Javier Bardem played a man afflicted with quadriplegia (paralysis from the neck down). His face and eyes told more in a minute about his feelings and inner workings than Pratt’s acting does in the entire film.
Add in the over-worn secondary characteristic of being an abusive alcoholic, and nothing about Chris Raven seems particularly affable or original.
Ferguson fairs a bit better as the icy Maddox. Only her head is on view, yet, with a better character arc, she is more alluring. Wallis as Chris’ wife Nicole is duplicitous. Reis’ interpretation of the gung-ho cop is fun to watch, until it isn’t. Jeff Pierre’s role as an interloper won’t endear him to anyone. The one likeable character is Ray (played by Kenneth Choi), Chris’ old partner, and his lack of screen time should be a crime.
After Mercy has run its 100-minute course, it is likely theater audiences might say: “I didn’t feel anything except a small adrenaline rush.” Or “Wish I’d waited to see this on Prime.”
They may lack sustained emotions and vigorous enthusiasm. Ironically, just like AI. That’s what dooms “Mercy.”
Dwight Brown is the film critic for the National Newspaper Publishers’ Association.
