Mercy

As artificial intelligence infiltrates every aspect of our lives, the allure might obscure the potential drawbacks. For example, take Mercy, a film about AI that feels as though it was written by a chatbot.

Part science-fiction cautionary tale and part eye-rolling redemption tale, this ticking-clock thriller — sort of like a watered-down version of Minority Report — rings hollow as an indictment of institutional corruption and technological overreach.

Also examining judicial rights and online privacy within a semi-dystopian future, it’s too half-hearted to be provocative, and too contrived to yield sufficient emotional depth or moral complexity.

The story is set in 2029, when the government has imposed cutthroat policing methods to curb violent crime. Suspected offenders are taken to an AI courtroom where they have 90 minutes to prove their innocence in front of a virtual judge, or face immediate execution.

Chris (Chris Pratt) has been on both sides. As an LAPD detective, he arrested the first criminal in the controversial program, but now wakes up in custody to learn that his wife (Annabelle Wallis) has been stabbed to death and he’s the defendant.

Desperate to exonerate himself, Chris is defiant toward a callous AI judge (Rebecca Ferguson), combing through surveillance footage and phone records. Along the way, we learn that his hot temper and excessive drinking has caused a rift in his marriage, which doesn’t help his cause.

As the clock ticks, his skeptical teenage daughter (Kylie Rogers), a fellow detective (Kali Reis), and his AA sponsor (Chris Sullivan) offer various levels of assistance. Without any specific memories of what happened, Chris scrambles to find suspects, motives, evidence, and support for his cause before it’s too late.

Action filmmaker Timur Bekmambetov (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter) continues his fascination with storytelling entirely via screens, a cause he’s championed for a decade. This example again showcases both its possibilities and its drawbacks.

Combining muddled subtext with formulaic procedural elements, the rote screenplay squanders a potentially intriguing concept that never musters sufficient incentive to invest in the investigation or the ultimate verdict.

Meanwhile, the film plays against Pratt’s strengths as a physical actor by having him remain seated in a chair, save for some flashbacks.

Generating only surface-level suspense, Mercy collapses under the weight of its convoluted narrative gimmickry.

Rated PG-13, 100 minutes.