Critics had no mercy on Chris Pratt’s latest film ahead of its theatrical release. Mercy, the new sci-fi thriller starring Pratt, faced harsh reviews and a low Rotten Tomatoes score as early reactions rolled in.
Chris Pratt’s Mercy gets bad reviews and Rotten Tomatoes score
Chris Pratt’s Mercy has received a 20% score on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 40 critic reviews.
The film has not received an audience score yet. Timur Bekmambetov directed the 1h 40m sci-fi thriller, and Marco van Belle wrote it. Amazon MGM Studios released the film in theaters on January 23, 2026. The story follows LAPD Detective Chris Raven (Pratt), who stands accused of murdering his wife. He has 90 minutes to prove his innocence to an AI judge named Maddox (Rebecca Ferguson).
Multiple critics rated the film poorly. Jesse Hassenger of AV Club gave it a C- and wrote, “If this is the future of crime thrillers, everyone needs their screentime severely curtailed.” Rafer Guzman of Newsday rated it 2/4, calling it “mildly entertaining and utterly disposable.” Linda Marric from HeyUGuys gave it 2/5, stating the film “borrows the aesthetic of superior sci-fi films, without grasping the soul of the genre.” Carla Hay of Culture Mix described it as “a mindless action flick” and wrote, “Viewers will feel like yelling at the screen too, with all the stupidity on display.”
Rebecca Ferguson confirmed in a Rotten Tomatoes interview that she “said no to working face-to-face with Chris Pratt in Mercy.” The Motion Picture Association gave the film a PG-13 rating for violence, strong language, bloody images, teen smoking, and drug content.
Jonathan Sim of ComingSoon reviewed the film positively and gave it a score of 8/10. He described Mercy as “a sleek, tightly wound science fiction thriller” with a claustrophobic setting and noted, “Raven cannot run. He cannot fight his way out. His only weapon is truth, or at least his version of it.” The film uses real-time screen-life storytelling and explores themes of justice through a single-room narrative.
