Mercy
Amazon MGM Studios | Release Date: January 23, 2026 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
34
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 35 Critic Reviews
Positive:
4
Mixed:
16
Negative:
15

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
38
Chicago TribuneKatie WalshJan 23, 2026
There is some excellent location-shooting in downtown Los Angeles during the climax, seen through the lens of a bodycam or quadcopter or drone camera. It’s not enough to save the aesthetic of the entire film, though, which is somehow both gray and nauseating. Read full review
38
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliJan 23, 2026
At best, this is a late-night time-waster to be watched on Prime Video when all better options have been exhausted. Read full review
38
The Associated PressLindsey BahrJan 21, 2026
For how reliant this movie is on screens and keeping Pratt alone, one might assume that “Mercy” was a socially distanced, COVID-era leftover instead of something made in 2024. Read full review
30
The RevealKeith PhippsJan 23, 2026
It’s rare that a work of science fiction offers a grim vision of the future, then asks us to learn to love it. Read full review
30
Wall Street JournalKyle SmithJan 23, 2026
The director’s trying-too-hard approach to everything, meant to make the film exciting, instead makes it so frenetic that it’s a slog, and the script by Marco van Belle falls short of the standard that you would expect to draw a star of Mr. Pratt’s magnitude. Read full review
30
The New York TimesManohla DargisJan 22, 2026
A witless, thrill-free hodgepodge of shinily packaged action-thriller clichés. Read full review
30
SlashfilmJeremy MathaiJan 21, 2026
Mercy is a sight that may induce sore eyes, a punishing experience for those with even the lowest of expectations, and appears destined to land among the dregs of the year. But, worst of all, this feels like an alarming glimpse into a world I want no part of — one where our entertainment isn't so much as created by AI, but explicitly tailored for those who no longer care enough to see the difference. On the bright side, 2026 can't get any worse than this ... right? Read full review
25
The Travers TakePeter TraversJan 23, 2026
Chris Pratt sits in a witness hair for most of this action movie while I sit in wonder about how a movie with such timely potential—an AI arbiter (Rebecca Ferguson) serving as judge, jury and executioner— manages to fall so hard on its fatuous pretentions. Read full review
25
Boston GlobeOdie HendersonJan 21, 2026
None of this is visually compelling, and “Mercy” plays like it was written as an AI system’s prompt response. Read full review
20
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Radheyan SimonpillaiJan 23, 2026
It’s not like the premise isn’t intriguing. It’s just that the result is the kind of soulless response you’d expect from AI, should it be prompted to make a “screenlife” version of Minority Report, with some elements from Speed. Read full review
20
The TimesKevin MaherJan 23, 2026
Pratt is fine, and blandly likeable in the manner of a not-especially-demanding labrador, but the prospect of his blameless heroism is always depressingly inevitable and the identity of the real villain is conspicuous from almost the first scene. Read full review
20
The IndependentClarisse LoughreyJan 21, 2026
Any effort to force us to identify with Chris comes to naught. Any promising idea leads to a dead end. It’s a maddening watch. Read full review
20
The Film VerdictAlonso DuraldeJan 21, 2026
While Pratt has become the most stultifying of screen presences — he was a lot more fun to watch back when Bekmambetov cast him in a small role in 2008’s Wanted — Ferguson and Reis are both as electrifying as the material allows them to be. Read full review
20
LooperAudrey FoxJan 21, 2026
Mercy is not a good movie, with hackneyed dialogue and stock performances that, ironically, seem like they themselves could have been generated by AI. But worse than that, it's a movie that pushes insidious views about AI, law enforcement, and privacy laws under the guise of a brains-off action thriller. Read full review
0
Austin ChronicleRichard WhittakerJan 21, 2026
Seriously, audiences do not need another constant reminder that their lives are slipping away. Just watching Mercy will have them reconsidering their priorities. Read full review
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