Mercy

Woke up from a nap to find my wife watching this movie. There are no words to convey how bad this movie is.

I'll give you one scene: Hero lady doctor is running through the hospital, then for no apparent reason, she's running on the roof.

Meanwhile the FBI agents are reviewing her war record. They see she's won 3 gold stars! (There's no such thing as a gold star. Silver Star yes, gold star no!)

Cut to the next scene as the two FBI agents are saluting her as she runs on the roof. Seriously.

Absolutely a bucket of drivel. The only reason you should watch this movie is to point out all the ways it's terrible. 0 out of 10 stars.

An Irish crime family takes over a hospital in Washington (state) when the heir of the business is wounded in a clash with law enforcement. A doctor with military experience helps authorities from the inside (Leah Gibson). Jon Voight is on hand as the Irish 'Godfather.'

"Mercy" (2023) is a snappy crime thriller in the mold of "Die Hard," just with a lower budget and a kick-axx woman in the top role instead of Bruce Willis.

Speaking of whom, Leah Gibson shines here and is one of the main reasons for seeing this minor flick that cost $5 million. The only other film I've seen her in is "The Devil's Ground" from 14 years prior where she had the same distinctive doe-eyed face, but with a stick figure; she's thankfully filled out over the years and looks great in tight jeans. Her beauty is well displayed throughout without getting sleazy.

Another positive is that "Mercy" is pro-Conservative. Critics are too hard on it seeing as how it delivers the goods if you're in the mood for a quick action thriller.

The movie is short-n-sweet at 1 hour, 25 minutes, and was presumably shot in the Seattle area (you can see the Space Needle in the distance). I say 'presumably' because I can't find specifics on the locations.

GRADE: B-

Greetings again from the darkness. Imagine if Liam Neeson's character in TAKEN had also been a skilled trauma surgeon ... and a woman. If so, the result would be similar to the main character here, Michelle, played by Leah Gibson. Michelle is that rare former military doctor with special ops skills. She's also a mother to a young son, and experiences a traumatic event in the opening scene in this film from director Tony Dean Smith and writer Alex Wright.

Michelle (Ms. Gibson) returns to civilian life as a single mother and secures a job as a surgeon at a small suburban hospital where a former military affiliate is Chief of Surgery. She's making the best of her new life, and has secured the night off work to take her son to a big soccer match for his birthday. Before they can leave the hospital, a gunshot victim arrives - one needing Michelle's special skills. Of course, we have seen what she hasn't ... the gun shot victim is part of the local Irish mob known as the Quinn Brotherhood, and though his wounds occurred during a crime, there is a twist.

Jonathan Rhys Meyers plays Sean Quinn, the hot-headed son of Patrick Quinn (Oscar winner Jon Voight). The two butt heads as the elderly Patrick looks for a negotiated agreement under duress, while the young Sean thinks everything can be solved with intimidation and violence. Not helping matters is a rookie FBI agent who has the youngest Quinn son (the above-mentioned gunshot victim) in custody.

There is plenty of noise, gunfire, and tough-talking throughout the film, but we never believe that Michelle is in much danger - thanks to her 'very particular set of skills.' Although she has acted regularly for the past 15 years, we wouldn't call Leah Gibson a familiar face. She is, however, up to the challenges of this physically demanding role. Even Jonathan Rhys Meyers is all in as the psychopath gangster, and despite his turn in "The Tudors", he has never reached the level of stardom I predicted after MATCH POINT (2005).

Jon Voight is now 85 years old, and his storied career includes key roles in MIDNIGHT COWBOY (1969), DELIVERANCE (1972), COMING HOME (1978), MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE (1996), and a career renaissance with "Ray Donovan" ... the role most similar to his character in this movie. Outside of Mr. Voight, the film has a distinct B-movie look and feel, although the clown in the hospital was a nice touch and almost made up for the lame 'salutes' we are subjected to.

In select theatres on May 12, 2023, and on demand on June 2, 2023.

Nail-biting action movie about a hospital under siege of a dangerous and sadist Irish band. Two years ago, Dr. Miller's (Leah Gibson) husband died before her eyes on the Afghan front. Now she works in the emergency management department at Mercy Hospital and the days of war are behind her , and she lives with her son Bobby (Anthony Bolognese). However, everything changes the day an FBI witness is admitted injured to the hospital. The witness is Ryan Quinn (Anthony Konechny), the brother of Sean Quinn (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) and the son of Patrick "Paddy" Quinn (Jon Voight), whose family is the member of the Irish mob called the Quinn Gang Brotherhood responsible for committing series of crimes in the United States. The FBI wants Ryan to testify against Sean and Paddy, but he refuses and says that his family runs a clean operation. The FBI knows that Paddy has picked Ryan to run the enterprise, bypassing Sean, and they have also leaked that Ryan has cooperated with the agency. And this place ends up becoming the battlefield of the Irish mafia. Soon after, the doctor learns the kidnap, and she contends the villain intruder people. But terrorists will resort at whatever means to get their purports. Dr. Miller's skills are the only ones that can save this dangerous situation."The wrong woman in the wrong place at the wrong time".

A thrilling, intriguing and violent film in which FBI, the Irish mafia, a former military doctor in the Afghan war and a bunch of innocent people find themselves inside a hospital when it becomes a real battlefield, so our starring is forced to rely upon her battle-hardened past and lethal skills after realizing there's no one left to save the day but her. The film is passable but it has nothing special, it is full of situations that we have seen many times before and much better. This action and revenge thriller stars the 1979 Best Actor Oscar winner, John Voight (Midnight Cowboy, The Odessa file), and Jonathan Rhys (Mission Impossible 3, Match Point), but the real protagonist is Leah Miller who's pretty well as the resourceful doctor and former military officer finds herself in a deadly battle for survival when the Irish mob takes control of the hospital where she works and her son is taken hostage. As the busty Leah Gibson gives an enjoyable acting as the ex-military officer whose son is taken as hostage by a terrorist group, becoming an one-woman army fighting desperately to stay alive and save the kidnapped people.

This B-movie was regularly but professionally made by filmmaker Tony Dean Smith. He is a frequent director of television films (Disappearance in Yellowstone, Aurora Teagarden, The Secret Lives of College Freshmen, Love Under the Rainbow, The killer in the guest house) and occasionally for cinema (Volition, Mercy). Rating: 5/10. The film is only recommended for hardcore lovers of action and fighting movies.

I won't go on too long. All the other sub 5-star ratings are on point... with one exception: Voight's fake Irish accent is horrendous, appealing, (pick your favorite diss).

Given the rest of the movie, and the story is so garbage, he might as well have played a distant mob uncle from America, so the audience could avoid listening to the accent. Miserable.

I watched it on the plane without expecting too much... but my goodness did it fall short of my already super low expectations.

I do hope this does not break even or in any other way incentivizes the producers to half-ass another film in the future.