In new movie Mercy, Chris Pratt plays Chris Raven, a detective accused of murdering his wife, who has 90 minutes to prove his innocence to an AI judge before he's sentenced to the death penalty. But Raven isn't the only Chris struggling against technology – it was a lot for Pratt to wrap his head around on set, too.
"It was definitely a challenge, and something I hadn't done before," Pratt tells GamesRadar+.
Directed by screenlife enthusiast Timur Bekmambetov, all the evidence and witness statements in Raven's trial come through LA's "municipal cloud", which every citizen is required to back up their devices to, and appear on a screen in front of him.
"Really long takes, very technical in terms of what we were shooting: what I could see that the audience would eventually be able to see, and what I couldn't see that the audience would actually be able to see, understanding where various eyelines were, but all keeping it in one take and not being able to cut," he continues. "Long scenes of dialog, vacillating through various states of emotion and adventure and tension and drama."
Throughout the trial with Judge Maddox, played by Rebecca Ferguson, Raven is also restrained in a chair with cuffs around his wrists and ankles. "It was a big challenge. But then restricting yourself by having your hands and feet locked and being stuck in a chair all day, it was a challenge," Pratt adds.
"I asked them to actually lock it so I could wrestle against it. And also, you know, if I was sweating and it was itching my face, I couldn't scratch it. I thought those restrictions might lend themselves to a better performance."
Mercy arrives in theaters on January 23. For more, check out our guide to this year's best upcoming movies.
