In a not-so-distant future, artificial intelligence plays judge, jury and executioner, a potentially frightening premise for a sci-fi action thriller.

But in the bumbling "Mercy," handing over the reins of justice to AI isn't the scary part. It's how the fallibility of humans potentially corrupts what is presented as an otherwise streamlined and seamless process.

Chris Pratt stars as Det. Chris Raven, an officer with the LAPD who awakens to find himself strapped to a chair inside an AI courtroom, which is essentially a cold, empty warehouse building.

On the video screen in front of him is Judge Maddox (Rebecca Ferguson), an AI judge who informs him he is charged with killing his wife. Raven then has 90 minutes to prove his innocence — or at least create reasonable doubt of his guilt — or he will be executed on-site, case closed.

Raven has access to basically, well, everything. It's 2029, and phone data is an open book; everyone has bought into a government surveillance program that has reduced crime by 68% and privacy by 100%.

But again, that's not seen as a concern here. It's for the greater good, and Pratt's character is one of the champions of the AI court system, having lost his partner to an incident several years earlier, where the murderer got off on a technicality. That led to the institution of the Mercy system, the "ultimate crime deterrent," where suspects are guilty until proven innocent and must defend themselves while the clock is running. This system seemingly puts a lot of lawyers out of a job but on the bright side, hey, no more jury duty!

The incident with Raven's partner sends him spiraling, leading to him drinking, distancing himself from his daughter Britt (Kylie Rogers), and eventually being charged with the murder of his wife. But Raven swears he's innocent, and now it's on him to prove he didn't do it, and to do so using the Mercy system he put in his place.

"Mercy" is essentially a laptop thriller, like "Searching" or "Unfriended," where most of the action unfolds on screens or phones and through the use of search engines. Pratt's character is locked in his chair for the majority of the film, and while there are plenty of actors who are expressive enough that they can use even the slightest twitch of an eye to hint at the layers of depth and complexity underneath their skin — Tom Hardy is one such performer, and he carried the entirety of 2013's "Locke" while sitting behind the wheel of a car — Pratt is simply not that star. With him, what you see is what you get, which works against "Mercy's" favor and makes it a very surface-level experience.

Regardless, "Mercy" — which is directed by "Wanted's" Timur Bekmambetov — is able to hold its own for a good portion of its running time before going off the rails in its final act, when the story gets exponentially ridiculous and characters begin acting erratically.

And then there's the film's overall approach to AI, which it handles with honor and reverence. Throughout the history of sci-fi, we've been taught to fear technology, but "Mercy" treats it like the be-all, end-all, with just a few kinks that need to be worked out. It's a terrifying vision of the future, indeed.

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'MERCY'

Grade: C-

MPA rating: PG-13 (for violence, bloody images, some strong language, drug content and teen smoking)

Running time: 1:40

How to watch: In theaters Jan. 23

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