Let’s take a look at some new movies released by Amazon that feature some troubling messages.
Der Tiger (The Tank)
Released on Amazon Prime on January 2, 2026, this movie follows a Tiger tank team of German soldiers during WWII, tasked with completing a covert mission behind enemy lines to “rescue” a Colonel with important military documents. Sounds like a typical war movie, until you realize that the heroes of the story are Nazis and that “enemy lines” refers to Allied Forces, which included the US.
I think it is important to note that this movie does acknowledge some of the horrors committed during the war and the moral dilemma characters faced when choosing whether to follow orders. However, I think that rooting for Nazis to succeed is just wrong. I don’t care that it is a fictional story; Nazis should never be the “good guys”. With the rise of fascism in America, citizens have seen Neo-Nazis march in the street, waving the same flags used in WWII, spreading hate, and promoting white supremacy. Amazon’s role in producing and promoting this film comes across as an inability to read the room at best, and an endorsement of these people’s beliefs and behaviors at worst.
Mercy
This sci-fi film was released in theaters just last month, on January 23, 2026, starring Chris Pratt and Rebecca Ferguson. Set in LA in 2029, this film follows LAPD Detective Christopher Raven as he is accused of murdering his wife and has 90 minutes to prove his innocence to an AI judge. To do this, he is given all the resources he could possibly need: footage from public surveillance cameras, body cam recordings, doorbell cameras, social media accounts, cellphone data, private messages, and a phone line to contact anyone he wants. If he is unable to prove his innocence within a 92% reasonable doubt, he will be immediately executed.
The glorification of widespread public surveillance isn’t downplayed in this film at all. The main character can access anything and everything without anyone’s permission, even if it does not directly relate to his case. Additionally, unlike real AI models, the AI judge in this movie never guesses or makes up data when asked for information. The film also aims to humanize the AI judge, with Pratt’s character saying, “human or AI, we all make mistakes, and we learn”. This aspect of the film comes across as a demonstration of what AI could be, if people are willing to continue footing the bill. It seems pretty convenient that this movie was released at the same time that Amazon began mass employee layoffs while pumping billions into AI development.
