Chris Pratt's New Sci-Fi Thriller Fiercely Splits Critics & Audiences On Rotten Tomatoes

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Chris Pratt is emotional as he looks at the evidence file in Mercy

Published Jan 24, 2026, 10:13 AM EST

Fariba Rezwan is a Lead Editor for the Movie News team. She has been with ScreenRant for nearly five years, with roles ranging from list editor to junior news editor.

During that time, Fariba has led coverage for breaking movies and TV news, including Hunger Games, Marvel, and streaming. Additionally, she has actively provided commentary and reactions to the biggest movies and shows on her YouTube channel, The Movieception Show.

Chris Pratt’s new sci-fi thriller, Mercy, gets a final verdict from audiences after brutal reviews from critics.

Whereas the Rotten Tomatoes score is currently at an underwhelming 20%, audiences were far more receptive towards the new movie, leading to a very strong 81%. Nevertheless, this difference shows one of the strongest divides between critics and audiences in 2026, let alone for a Pratt movie.

Kali Reis' Jaq and Chris Pratt's Raven standing next to each other looking intensely in Mercy

This reception comes not long after the first reviews were very critical of Mercy. Despite the high concept of AI ingrained as part of the legal system, there were limits to creating an engaging story, with Pratt’s character strapped to the chair for the majority of the movie. More importantly, by the time Mercy reached its ending, many critics felt that the message was pro-AI, leaving some baffled due to the heated debate surrounding the topic.

ScreenRant’s review of Mercy was among the majority, as Gregory Nussen gave it a 4 out of 10 stars. They found that “its neoconservative outlook on these burgeoning sociopolitical questions is bland, absurd, and exceedingly silly.” In addition, Nussen concluded that “It's difficult to come away from the film with any other understanding but that the filmmakers stand in full support of militarizing the police, crushing anti-government dissent, and implementing AI and surveillance wherever it is possible.”

Although most critics were on the same page about the criticism, audiences responded differently to Mercy. While many won’t deny that the sci-thriller is not perfect, the action sequences and twists were enough to engage casual moviegoers.

Now that the audience response is in, it may be crucial to revive Mercy’s box office potential during its opening weekend. This comes as projections show the new Pratt movie debuting for $10 million to $13 million. While this may be enough to overthrow Avatar: Fire and Ash from the topic spot, it’s not exactly a strong debut, given that Mercy has a $60 million budget. Thus, word of mouth can help the movie’s box office performance.

Mercy follows Pratt’s detective, who is put on trial for murdering his wife. He must prove his innocence to an AI judge, or he will be executed on the spot. Alongside Pratt, the cast also features Rebecca Ferguson, Chris Sullian, Kali Reis, Kenneth Choi, and Kylie Rogers. Mercy is directed by Timur Bekmambetov, with Marco van Belle penning the script.

Mercy is now playing in theaters.