Plot
In a futuristic Los Angeles with crime on the rise, the Mercy Capital Court uses AI judges to put defendants on trial for violent crimes. The AI judges give the defendants all available resources to find and provide all the evidence needed and are given 90 minutes to prove their innocence, or be executed via a sonic blast.
LAPD Detective Christopher "Chris" Raven, a strong proponent of the court, is strapped to a chair, put on trial for his wife Nicole's murder, and is given 90 minutes of investigation to persuade the judge of his innocence. Presiding over his case is the AI Judge Maddox. All the evidence points to Chris having killed his wife, as her blood was found on his clothing and doorbell camera footage places him at their home shortly before her murder. Chris's guilt probability is 97.5%, which he must lower to 92% to avoid execution.
Via Maddox's abilities, Chris learns that Nicole was seeing another man, Patrick Burke. Chris's partner Jacqueline "Jaq" Diallo finds Burke, who confides that Nicole felt unable to communicate her troubles to Chris about work. Her work email records show that there have been reports of stolen chemicals. Chris recalls hosting a barbecue with Nicole just days before the murder and reviews footage to see which co-workers were there.
Chris confronts his relapse in sobriety following the murder of his former partner, Ray Vale. Chris regrets not shooting the suspect, who was later acquitted. Chris's alcoholism led to aggression toward Nicole, and she began to consider a divorce.
Maddox shows Chris records of one co-worker, Holt Charles, who had financial issues and had discussed the chemical disappearance with Robert Nelson, Chris's sobriety sponsor. Suspecting Holt may have killed Nicole, Chris tries to contact Rob. Holt instead answers the phone, and he explains that Rob is responsible for the missing chemicals. Chris reviews his daughter Britt's social media posts, which reveal that a stranger had been hiding in their basement since the barbecue. His neighbor's security cameras display a rustling in the bushes, and Rob is seen exiting the neighbor's trunk in parking lot surveillance footage.
Chris sends Jaq to Rob's house, warning her and her team that he might be armed. The SWAT team arrives at Rob's house, finding it empty, but uncover the stolen chemicals and detailed plans to craft a bomb. Maddox discovers that Rob's brother, David Webb, was the first person Mercy Court executed and Chris realizes that Rob is orchestrating revenge against him and the court. Chris is officially acquitted for the murder, ending the trial. He tries to contact Britt, but footage from her grandparents' front door shows Rob kidnapping her and taking her into a stolen semi-truck. A bomb goes off, killing most of the SWAT team when Rob's shed explodes.
Jaq pursues Rob, who is transporting explosives toward Mercy Court to destroy the building with Chris inside. The police are able to divert Rob away from Mercy Court, and Jaq tries to get the task force captain to blow up the truck. Chris pleads against this, as Britt is with Rob, but the captain arms a bomb robot to detonate under the truck as Rob drives over it. The bomb robot does not detonate, and Rob eventually arrives to Mercy Court, crashing into the building. The network resets and locks Chris in, but Maddox reboots in time to free him.
Chris confronts Rob, and they fight until Chris is able to disarm Rob. Chris prepares to kill Rob, but Britt and Maddox talk him down. Jaq shoots Rob, who proclaims that David was innocent of the murder he was executed for, as Rob was on the phone with David at the time of the victim's death. Maddox retrieves footage that confirms this. It is revealed that Jaq dumped David's phone, which would have been enough evidence to exonerate David, in an effort to prove Mercy's efficacy. Jaq and Rob are both taken into custody. As Britt reconciles with Chris, Maddox shuts off and Chris's case is dismissed.
Production
It was announced in January 2024 that a science fiction thriller film entitled Mercy was being made for Amazon MGM Studios with Chris Pratt starring, directed by Timur Bekmambetov from a script by Marco Van Belle and produced by Charles Roven, Robert Amidon, Bekmambetov, and Majd Nassif. [5] [6]
In March, Rebecca Ferguson and Annabelle Wallis joined the cast in undisclosed roles. [7] [8] In April, Kali Reis, Rafi Gavron, Chris Sullivan, Kenneth Choi and Kylie Rogers joined the cast. [9] [10] In May, Jeff Pierre joined the cast of the film. [4]
Principal photography began on April 18, 2024, in Los Angeles, with Khalid Mohtaseb serving as the cinematographer. Pratt suffered an ankle injury on day four of filming, posting a photo of a swollen ankle on his Instagram page. [11] Filming wrapped on May 23. [12]
