With AI and intense policing being incredibly relevant topics in today's society, audiences should be on the lookout for Amazon Studios' latest film, Mercy, which tackles those themes with a unique twist. The movie stars Chris Pratt, Star-Lord himself, as Detective Raven, a cop who finds himself in front of an AI Judge (played by Rebecca Ferguson) with 90 minutes to prove his innocence.
The Direct sat down with Chris Pratt, alongside his co-star Kali Reis (who plays Chris Raven's partner, Detective Jaq Diallo) and director Timur Bekmambetov, who all offered their thoughts on how Mercy is the perfect film and experience for today's society.
Pratt admitted that the film does certainly touch upon the relevant issues of AI and intense policing, adding that "the best part of this film is [how] it touches on all of those, but also is sheer escapism." He elaborated on how he feels that "there's nothing better than 90 minutes of putting your phone away and just being swept up in a story" while "still [having] your finger on the pulse of what's happening in the world."
Pratt added that "sometimes we need a little break" from the chaos of the world, and that "it's nice [to have a] 90-minute reprieve."
Director Timur Bekmambetov also spoke with The Direct, where he added that he wanted audiences themselves "to be trapped in the chair and look back and try to understand who we are," and to "kind of confess" since "the whole movie is a confession."
Mercy star Kali Reis told The Direct that she doesn't consider the film to be "any kind of think piece," and is instead just "for entertainment purposes." Though she didn't deny that the topics tackled in the film are "something that's very relevant."
Reis did add that she's very fond of how "[The time that] Chris has to prove his innocence is the time you are sitting in your chair viewing this all and being so immersed and interactive with it."
The full interview with Chris Pratt, Kalie Reis, and Timur Bekmambetov can be read and viewed below. Mercy hits theaters on January 23, 2026.
Fans of Chris Pratt can also be sure to check him out in Amazon Studios' The Terminal List.
Chris Pratt Explains Why 'Mercy' Is the Perfect Film For Today's Society
The Movie Is Incredibly Relevant While Being the Perfect Form of Escapism
- The Direct: "The film addresses a lot of extremely relevant topics. You have AI, intense policing—Can you both talk about why this is the perfect story and experience for today's society, and how the film tackles all of that in a unique way?"
Chris Pratt: You're right that it tackles a lot of intense topics that feel relevant today. So in that regard, it feels topical. I think the best part of this film is [how] it touches on all of those, but also is sheer escapism.
And so I think a lot of how the anxiety of the world is projected to us is through our phones and through screens, and there's nothing better than 90 minutes of putting your phone away and just being swept up in a story. So you can feel like you still have your finger on the pulse of what's happening in the world, but you're doing it in a passive way that's keeping you engaged on the edge of your seat.
And you know, it's truly a thrilling, sort of gripping story, but ultimately it's sheer entertainment. And so I think the reason it's so topical, or so it's relevant now, is, yes, it has to do with AI, and it has to do with justice, and it has to do with intense policing, and those are all things that are happening that give us anxiety today, and sometimes we need a little break from that. So, it's a nice 90-minute reprieve. That minute reprieve will give you both the break, but also allow you to still feel part of the world.
Timur Bekmambetov: It's a possibility to understand who we are today, and to stop, to be trapped in the chair and look back and try to understand who we are, and in the world of innovations and surveillances, whatever, and to kind of confess, because it's a confession. The whole movie is a confession.
Kali Reis: Yeah, absolutely. This isn't, in no way, shape, or form, any kind of think piece. It was just... It's for entertainment purposes, but it's very relevant to now. I think it brings up a lot of questions, especially with me, even reading the script of how we actually view AI, how we view technology, how we interact with technology. It's something that's very relevant.
I think it's a tool, just like anything else. It depends on [how you use it]. It could be used to build. It can be used for something positive, but it can also be used to destroy. It all depends. It really depends on us and how we teach it to act. You know, if it's studying us now, we're going berserk on each other. It's going to learn that.
So, I think it's a cool film. It's a very unique—Timur has a very unique way of just involving us... My favorite part of this is that it's in real time. It's the 90 minutes that he has. [The time that] Chris has to prove his innocence is the time you are sitting in your chair viewing this all and being so immersed and interactive with it. [And the] 3D is just a whole different experience.
Chris Pratt on How the Mercy Courtroom Was Real to Him
While the Movie Brought to Life a Fictional Story, It Certainly Felt Real to Its Star
- The Direct: "The movie takes place, Chris, with your character, you know, strapped to a chair, interacting with the virtual interface. Can you both talk about, like, on the day, what you guys were actually interacting with and how you pulled that off?"
Chris Pratt: Yeah, I was confined to a chair. I was inside a Volume. So, the Mercy chamber was very real to me. I mean, I was sitting inside of what would, essentially, I imagine if the Mercy chamber were real, it also would be a Volume. You'd have digital screens all around you. You'd have the chair. You'd be interacting with the entire world around you virtually through, you know, digital interfaces, through screens, through audio, through like FaceTime or phone calls, and that kind of stuff. And so it felt very much like that. The process was like that.
I wasn't sitting in the same room with the other actors. They were talking to me through an earwig on my phone and a microphone from another sound stage. So we're still able to connect to one another and have, you know, action and reaction and interact with one another in that way. That's really helpful for acting, where you have to be like speaking to a living, breathing soul and reacting to what they're saying.
And so that was all there. It just wasn't a literal connection to someone sitting across from me. So I felt isolated, and I felt trapped, and I felt claustrophobic, and that was all stuff that my character should be feeling anyways.
Timur Bekmambetov: But at the same time, all the evidences, all the scenes around him was shot, and it was part of his previous life when he was active. It was a great contrast between his previous and very active life.
Pratt: And the entire world is kind of blowing up around this character. So, while the trial is happening, you feel the world outside, both experiencing this trial as they're watching it, but also fighting to help prove my innocence. Or, you know, the various other things that you see. I don't want to spoil it, but what's going on around us is very active.
So, the court is sitting inside of what feels like a really dark and active 2029 version of Los Angeles, and that LA in 2029 is very much a character in this movie, whether it's through the actions of my partner, Jaq Diallo, she's like on a quad copter flying around, or it's a semi truck barreling through citizens in downtown, or massive chase sequences across roofs and various drone shots of cars flipping over. It has all the beats of an action film.
But for me, as the protagonist, being isolated and experiencing this world around me digitally is kind of the same thing that audiences are going to feel when they sit down in the chair and experience it, hopefully, like in 3D. If you get to see in 3D, I think that even now lends itself to a better experience, because you're truly in the Mercy chamber.
Mercy star Kali Reis, who stars as Detective Jaq Diallo, also talked to The Direct about what it was like to work with her co-stars, even if they were almost never on screen at the same time together.
- The Direct: "You and Chris Pratt's Chris Raven, you guys hardly share the screen together. You're not really in the same room very often. How did you work with Pratt in those scenes? Because you're on the phone all the time, and you are interacting. What was it like on the day? How were you interacting with him?"
Kali Reis: We had a lot of conversations together on our back stories. We really wanted to understand what our partnership, what our relationship was in this film, because we weren't sharing any kind of real space together.
So, it was really important us to, one understand each other's backstory and understand how we got where we were as partners, and also to pick the brains of the very people who do this job for real, and kind of how it relates to our characters and how we interact with each other on that part, and being able to have those back stories was—it seemed just like another conversation that we would have as partners, just on the phone. You know what I mean?
It was really essential to have those conversations about who we were as these characters in our backstory. So, that's how we got through that. It really was beneficial.
The full interviews can be viewed below:
