Mercy (2026)
Directed by Timur Bekmambetov
In the near future, a detective stands on trial accused of murdering his wife. He has ninety minutes to prove his innocence to the advanced AI Judge he once championed, before it determines his fate.
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45 films that influenced Mercy
What critics say influenced Mercy
Director
Steven Spielberg
Critics invoke Spielberg by name, and compare Mercy to 2 of Spielberg’s films.
Visuals
On Spielberg, rather than any one film
…trailing in the decades-old footsteps of Steven Spielberg…
In 2002, Tom Cruise and Steven Spielberg teamed up to showcase the power and dangers of technology in Minority Report. Now, amid a fury of AI advancement, Chris Pratt and Timur Bekmambetov look to do the same with their muted and eventually unconscionable Mercy.
Minority Report, which this movie very badly wants to replicate, was released in 2002, and it looks better and actually grapples with similar themes.
Where "RoboCop" or "Minority Report" had the teeth to hold systems to account and the creative vision to tell an entertaining story along the way, "Mercy" has the temerity to do neither.
Perhaps it may be the only months away dystopian future that recalls MINORITY REPORT, ROBOCOP, and the various incarnations of JUDGE DREDD (comics and films) that makes the plot seem fresh.
The influence of Minority Report looms heavily throughout, from the visual language to the central idea of pre-emptive justice.
It plays like a Perry Mason procedural dropped into a “Minority Report” world.
If this were meant as a cautionary tale about technology run amok, prepare yourself for a cavalcade of half measures that puts "Ready Player One" and it's bold "Eh, I guess we can turn our phones off twice a week" shrug of a conclusion to shame.
Lifeless greys and cold beiges populate the screen, the futuristic city and police technology looking like a discount Robocop.
Being generous, parts of the opening could pass for a stab at Paul Verhoeven-style satire—a creeping fascist police state in the vein of “RoboCop” or “Starship Troopers.”
…echoing the Paul Verhoeven-style satire of RoboCop (1987)…
Perhaps it may be the only months away dystopian future that recalls MINORITY REPORT, ROBOCOP, and the various incarnations of JUDGE DREDD (comics and films) that makes the plot seem fresh.
Where "RoboCop" or "Minority Report" had the teeth to hold systems to account and the creative vision to tell an entertaining story along the way, "Mercy" has the temerity to do neither.
It's like if the OCP corporation from "RoboCop" got to make a movie about how great it was.
Being generous, parts of the opening could pass for a stab at Paul Verhoeven-style satire—a creeping fascist police state in the vein of “RoboCop” or “Starship Troopers.”
…echoing the Paul Verhoeven-style satire of RoboCop (1987) or Starship Troopers (1997)…
The reality program that Raven is hooked up to has clear ties to “Total Recall” and “The Matrix,” and some of the terminology used to describe the all-consuming justice system is taken from the “Dredd” comics.
When you watch any screenlife movie (Unfriended, Searching, Missing, Unfriended: Dark Web, Profile), there’s a high percentage chance that Bekmambetov was involved…
Despite the very same director hailing "screenlife" as the next step of cinema, his haphazard approach here will only convince you that "Searching" and "Missing" were total flukes.
Flat ScreenLife-heavy sequences just made me wish I was rewatching Searching.
Bekmambetov has been involved with some great films in this genre, such as Searching, Profile, and Missing, but also some turds like War of the Worlds.
It’ll come as no surprise that the director, Timur Bekmambetov, has produced several “screenlife” films – movies that take place primarily on a computer screen. Searching, Unfriended, and that horrendous Ice Cube-led War of the Worlds are all in his filmography.
Bekmambetov went on to produce multiple screenlife films such as Searching, Unfriended, and War of the Worlds, all of which take place on a computer screen…
The whole conceit of the movie, much like 2025’s War of the Worlds, hinges on a character trying to solve the life-or-death task at hand by sitting in front of a computer.
…the results only bring to mind another Amazon MGM belter, the shambolic Ice Cube version of War of the Worlds…
…it's not much different than watching the 2025 "War of the Worlds" film, wherein the entire picture takes place on laptop windows.
…culminating in perhaps the ultimate example of the concept just last year: the reviled Ice Cube vehicle, War of the Worlds…
Nothing proved as such more than last year’s Amazon commer—I mean, Prime Video disasterpiece that was War of the Worlds, which Bekmambetov produced.
It’ll come as no surprise that the director, Timur Bekmambetov, has produced several “screenlife” films – movies that take place primarily on a computer screen. Searching, Unfriended, and that horrendous Ice Cube-led War of the Worlds are all in his filmography.
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When you watch any screenlife movie (Unfriended, Searching, Missing, Unfriended: Dark Web, Profile), there’s a high percentage chance that Bekmambetov was involved…
Bekmambetov has been involved with some great films in this genre, such as Searching, Profile, and Missing, but also some turds like War of the Worlds.
Despite the very same director hailing "screenlife" as the next step of cinema, his haphazard approach here will only convince you that "Searching" and "Missing" were total flukes.
In such films as “Unfriended,” “Searching,” and “Missing,” he’s made clever use of the eye-frying glare coming off those flat surfaces.
When you watch any screenlife movie (Unfriended, Searching, Missing, Unfriended: Dark Web, Profile), there’s a high percentage chance that Bekmambetov was involved…
This concerns titles like Unfriended and Profile transpiring entirely on a computer screen.
It’ll come as no surprise that the director, Timur Bekmambetov, has produced several “screenlife” films – movies that take place primarily on a computer screen. Searching, Unfriended, and that horrendous Ice Cube-led War of the Worlds are all in his filmography.
In such films as “Unfriended,” “Searching,” and “Missing,” he’s made clever use of the eye-frying glare coming off those flat surfaces.
Bekmambetov went on to produce multiple screenlife films such as Searching, Unfriended, and War of the Worlds, all of which take place on a computer screen…
Bekmambetov has produced a number of screenlife films: the Unfriended series…
The setting is Los Angeles 2029, hardly “Blade Runner” futuristic but enough ahead for the justice system to have ceded the task of issuing verdicts on capital punishment to digital wisdom.
…lots of post-Blade Runner digital evidence manipulation…
Mercy plays out like a tech upgrade hybrid of The Fugitive and Minority Report.
…it’s like if someone threw Minority Report and The Fugitive into a blender…
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When you watch any screenlife movie (Unfriended, Searching, Missing, Unfriended: Dark Web, Profile), there’s a high percentage chance that Bekmambetov was involved…
This concerns titles like Unfriended and Profile transpiring entirely on a computer screen.
Bekmambetov has been involved with some great films in this genre, such as Searching, Profile, and Missing, but also some turds like War of the Worlds.
Director Timur Bekmambetov juggles the various images (much like his last computer thriller PROFILE)…
Sadly, Bekmambetov (Profile) relies heavily on coincidence…
Bekmambetov tried his hand at it with the 2018 ISIS recruitment thriller Profile to minor success…
Sometimes his penchant for gonzo exuberance has resulted in goofy fun (“Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter”), but usually it makes for a spirit of antic ugliness that’s simply oppressive.
Timur Bekmambetov previously directed, in English, the movies Wanted (2008) and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012), which I certainly found had much better stories.
While his previous credits of “Wanted” and “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” can certainly be debated for their quality, they were bold in their visual texture and usage of special effects.
Action filmmaker Timur Bekmambetov (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter)…
Journeyman director Timur Bekmambetov (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter) relies on handheld camera footage…
…a reputation Bekmambetov would only double down on with films like Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and a Ben-hur remake, which were both total flops…
From Night Watch to Wanted, Timur Bekmambetov has always had a very fun visual style and kinetic way of shooting action.
Timur Bekmambetov previously directed, in English, the movies Wanted (2008) and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012), which I certainly found had much better stories.
This brings us to the latest feature from director Timur Bekmambetov ("Night Watch," "Wanted") entitled "Mercy,"…
While his previous credits of “Wanted” and “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” can certainly be debated for their quality, they were bold in their visual texture and usage of special effects.
Timur Bekmambetov-directed (“Wanted”)…
The filmmaker who once made Wanted, if you can believe it, arrives like Peter Pan with this film, refusing to grow up from these gimmicky screenlife movies.
From Night Watch to Wanted, Timur Bekmambetov has always had a very fun visual style and kinetic way of shooting action.
…director Timur Bekmambetov, most known for vampire movies (Night Watch…
This brings us to the latest feature from director Timur Bekmambetov ("Night Watch," "Wanted") entitled "Mercy,"…
…director Timur Bekmambetov (Night Watch)…
Back in 2004, director Timur Bekmambetov ("Wanted") made history with what may have been Russia's first blockbuster, "Night Watch."
I look at his mind-blowing early work in films like Daywatch, Nightwatch, and Wanted (which featured a much more enjoyable Pratt in a supporting role), while Mercy incorporates underwhelming 3D that fails to enhance the film at all.
There have been great films throughout cinematic history that have used the method quite effectively, classics like "High Noon" and "12 Angry Men, or a little more recently with "Phone Booth" and "United 93," but, of course, not all such films turn out so well ("88 Minutes" and "Silent House" come to mind).