In the near future, a detective stands on trial accused of murdering his wife. He has 90 minutes to prove his innocence to the advanced A.I. Judge he once championed, before it determines his fate.

‘Mercy’ is one of these action movies that seems to come out every January in the UK, almost acting as counter programming to the prestigious awards contenders that generally fill the screens at this time of year (see also last year’s ‘Flight Risk’ and the obligatory annual Jason Statham movie). It stars Chris Pratt as an LAPD detective (also called Chris) who wakes up strapped down to a chair, about to begin a trial for murder with an AI judge played by Rebecca Ferguson, and he has a mere 90 minutes to prove his innocence. If you’re thinking this sounds a little like ‘Minority Report’ then you would be correct in terms of the premise, though it becomes very clear that this is a very, very poor imitation – let’s call it ‘Minority Report’ for morons.

The thesis of ‘Mercy’ is we now live in a future world (which is only 2029 by the way), where criminals in Los Angeles are fast tracked through a process known as ‘Mercy’, which has access to every camera, every phone record, every email and has already passed judgement on the defendant. The 90 minute session with the judge is essentially a flip of the innocent until proven guilty approach, with the guilty verdict already handed down and chances of overturning it being slim. I can’t stress enough just how stupid this movie is, both in its predictability and its ludicrously convoluted plotting that is frankly all over the place. For starters, Chris is simultaneously on trial for murder and the most powerful man in Los Angeles with access to every piece of data imaginable and the full LAPD at his disposable. It is bonkers.

The film is directed by Timur Bekmambetov, who has made a career out of directing largely rubbish action movies, and his approach here is really irritating, all shaky cameras and jumping from screen to screen as Chris is presented with police camera footage, text messages, emails and various phone calls or reenactments. It really epitomises the nightmare of a world that has fully succumbed to technology. I think the intent is ultimately to keep throwing things at the screen so you forget about the nonsense that happened 5 minutes earlier, and in that respect it works to a degree as it was certainly never boring (note: this is not praise!).

‘Mercy’ is the first genuine stinker of the year, a rubbish action movie with phoned in performances, bad direction and a mildly intriguing premise that is turned into a dog’s dinner by a terrible script. I did laugh at its ludicrousness though, so that is something!

Rating: 2/5

Directed By: Timur Bekmambetov

Starring: Chris Pratt, Rebecca Ferguson, Annabelle Wallis, Kylie Rogers, Kali Reis, Chris Sullivan, Rafi Gavron, Kenneth Choi and Jeff Pierre

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt31050594/