The computers are taken over in the latest Chris Pratt vehicle “Mercy” — which plays out like “The Fugitive” with an artificial intelligence spin.

With director Timur Bekmambetov, the man behind tech-centric films “Unfriended” and “Searching,” “Mercy” tries to take that genre to another level only to fail miserably. It’s a film that lacks suspense, relies way too much on its tech gimmick and is anchored by one of the most uninspired performances by a lead in recent memory.

Pratt’s character spends almost the entire film strapped into a chair, something the audience will be able to relate too as this drab film unfolds in such a ridiculous manner.

Pratt plays Chris Raven, a detective in the near future Los Angeles with a drinking problem who wakes up after falling off the wagon to realize he is on trial in the AI court he helped create — strapped to a chair and on trial for the murder of his wife with 90 minutes to convince the computerized judge (Rebecca Ferguson) that he is innocent.

Raven is given unlimited access to digital data that the court has — anything from surveillance videos to secret phones and social media counts from people in your circle (this is a plot point that I found a bit too sleazy).

At first it appears Raven might be the culprit, with his marital problems the motive. His partner (Kali Reis) is able to conduct the investigation for him.

This all unfolds in real time, complete with a countdown clock prominently placed so that the audience can see it. It’s a device meant to create tension, but actually is just a cruel reminder to the audience of how much time they have left in this dull film.

Bekmambetov uses all his visual tricks from his previous films, but it just feels reheated with nothing really fresh to bring to the table. Even with the use of the partner to expand the film beyond the confines of Pratt and Ferguson in a room full of digital options, it still feels claustrophobic and one note. It doesn’t help that Pratt’s performance is wooden to the extent that it feels like he is the AI character and not Ferguson’s judge. To her credit Ferguson manages to be interesting even though the script by Marco van Belle gives her nothing to really work with.

Speaking of the script it is full of attempts at surprises that are so obvious the plot twists might as well have been straight lines. It’s the kind of twists that are ridiculous as they unfold but even more comical as you think about them leaving the theater. The unintentional humor is about the only positive thing to take from a film that feels exactly like the kind of dreck that typically gets dumped into theaters in January.

By the time this film reaches it’s plodding conclusion it will be the audience begging for “Mercy.”

Grade: D-