Mercy
⭐️ ⭐️ ½ (out of 5)
The debate over artificial intelligence continues to rage on, and the discussion has seeped into every corner of societal discourse. Cinematic depictions have preceded this discussion, and the projects that will continue to come will fuel the fire of this topic into the future. Director Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted, Ben Hur) ventures into this artificial world and attempts to show how it all has an impact on our reality.
Once again, we are introduced to Los Angeles in the not-too-distant future. Crime has escalated, and resources are pushed to their limits, forcing the judicial system to rely on AI judges in the Mercy Capital Court. LAPD Detective Chris Raven (Chris Pratt) played a key role in its development and advocated for the court until he found himself in the judgment seat. As he is put on trial for his wife’s murder in AI Judge Maddox’s (Rebecca Ferguson) court, the police officer must lower his guilt probability to 92% from 97.5% in n 90 minutes to avoid execution.
Upon leaving the cinema, a past film kept rushing back into my mind. Marco van Belle’s script screams of references to Philip K. Dick’s Minority Report and Paycheck as it delves into the heavy reliance on technology to administer justice. Not to say that they put these stories through ChatGPT, but the originality of this tale of an obviously framed police officer is hard to find as things roll on. The visuals are reminiscent of POV video gaming and add to the suspense as the two leads verbally spar through the judicial process.
Chris Pratt and Rebecca Ferguson do bring credibility to the overall experience as things unfold in this murder mystery. Still, like most things inspired by artificial intelligence, humanity seems to be missing, along with any imagination to keep audiences believing this could happen. Mercy offers compelling arguments against society’s reliance on the technology targeted in this film. Yet it all feels like we have been here before, despite being depicted in the future; it porves there is nothing new under this artificial sun.
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Reel Dialogue: Should we fear artificial intelligence?
One familiar aspect of this storyline is the seemingly omniscient and omnipotent justice system, despite being the appealing face of Rebecca Ferguson. It will tap into the global community's fear of artificial intelligence, even though this is not new to film. Still, as the debate continues over the threat AI poses to humanity, this film takes the discussion to the next level.
Despite the overarching power this being has on the world, interestingly, it still needs humans to do its ultimate bidding. Also, humanity still proves it has the upper hand as the film showcases the brilliance of the human mind over the created virus. As the story unfolds, it is impossible to miss the references to the need for justice.
Even if this film causes some to fear the power of artificial intelligence, never forget that no created being is omniscient, omnipresent, or omnipotent who can enact ultimate justice. There is only one being that exists that can dole out true justice, and, my friends, that is God.
