Actors and celebrities appear on camera asking for Prime Minister Tony Abbott to intervene and prevent Indonesia from executing the Australian drug smugglers on death row.

A VIDEO filmed by a group of Australian entertainment personalities urging Prime Minister Tony Abbott to bring Bali Nine pair Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan home has backfired after they were criticised for blaming him for their predicament.

The video called I Stand For Mercy, features Australian actors and television personalities including Geoffrey Rush, Guy Pearce and Joel Edgerton, calling on the Prime Minister to “man up” and #saveourboys.

Actor Brendan Cowell (The Slap, Save Your Legs!) raised eyebrows in the video after urging Mr Abbott to show “some balls”.

“Tony, if you have any courage and compassion get over to Indonesia and bring these two boys home. Show some balls,” he demanded.

Cowell has since apologised for his remarks saying, “Apology if we came across desperate or ignorant. Just heart broken.”

While Bryan Brown says: “Mr Abbott, please do your best to get these boys home and off execution row,” and Geoffrey Rush adds: “I’m an Australian, and I stand for mercy.”

While the video has gained much traction on social media, it has attracted as much criticism as it has support.

Many people have accused the personalities in the video of being “ill-informed” and in “poor taste” and felt the actors neglected to acknowledge the Government’s tireless efforts to save the pair.

A fiery discussion broke out on The Today Show this morning about the clip with commentator Amanda Blair slamming some of the actors as “moronic” for suggesting a solution was as simple as flying over there.

“I was absolutely horrified,” she said of her reaction to the video. “I watched the film clip this morning and I think that the sentiment is fine but I think that the delivery is disrespectful, over the top, and what it does, is it oversimplifies a really complex issue. Saying things to the Prime Minister like ‘man up Tony Abbott, get on a jet and get to Jakarta’ is just moronic.

“It just somehow makes people think that it’s Tony Abbott’s fault. The Government have done everything they can, they’ve asked for clemency, they’ve basically said that they will withdraw funding from Indonesia, disaster funding and I think they’ve done everything they possibly can but another country can’t rule another country when it comes to their laws. I’m absolutely against these executions, I think that they are terrible ... but this video is completely ill-conceived.”

Sports reporter Tim Gilbert said he agreed with Karl Stefanovic that some of the comments were “disrespectful” and “over the top”.

“It isn’t a spaghetti Western, this isn’t something you can just burst into a barn and say ‘I’m Tony Abbott, I’m going to sort this whole problem out.”

While Entertainment Reporter Richard Wilkins added: “It’s not as simple as they’re making it out and it is disrespectful and I’ve gotta say some of the speeches if you like look very, very scripted to me and it seems like it’s more political than anything else. I think there’s a real sting in it.”

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop says she was aware of the video and said if travelling to Indonesia would make a difference, she and her team would have gone there.

“We take the very best advice from our people in Indonesia, who are in Jakarta, who are part of a high-level sustained campaign to seek a stay of execution,” she told Karl Stefanovic on Today.

“If there was any indication being in Indonesia would help, of course we would be there.”

She added that the Prime Minister had spoken to President President [Joko] Widodo about the matter on numerous occasions.

“We have made representations across every level, across every sector of the Indonesian government and we’ll continue to do so.”

Crictics also took to social media to slam the video:

'The Government have done all they can, they asked for clemency' @TheAmandaBlair #Bali9 #Today9 — The Today Show (@TheTodayShow) April 27, 2015

Someone could explain to Bryan Brown, Geoffrey Rush et al that Tony Abbott is PM of Australia, not Indonesia. Effing clowns. #SaveOurBoys — Barb (@BabsNation) April 27, 2015

Err, can't you facile celebrity idiots at #saveourboys see PM's already doing all he can short of invading? http://t.co/oKmITgapPW #auspol — Furious Fong (@FuriousFong) April 27, 2015

.@brendancowell What would have Mr Abbott do, Brendan, invade Indonesia? Waltz over there and stage a coup? Clown #SaveOurBoys #Auspol — Barb (@BabsNation) April 27, 2015

The actors telling the PM to "get some ticker" etc re #Bali9. What stupid comments. PM & FM have worked tirelessly. #auspol — MLo (@MLoParis) April 27, 2015

actors demanding Tony Abbott fly in like Putin on a winged unicorn bear to rescue the Bali 9 guys. seems legit. — #NotAllDroids (@P45K) April 27, 2015

Disgusted at Aussie actors blaming Abbott for imminent death of Bali 2. Perhaps they expect us to send army to invade Indonesia — Magoo (@jomagoo68) April 27, 2015

Tony and Julia did more for the situation than these videos did @TheTodayShow — Mija Kovacic (@mijakovacic) April 27, 2015

#Today9 R these celebs kidding? Why is it up to the PM to save the Bali 9 pair, where were these celebs when they were first sentenced? — Col Keating (@ColKeating) April 27, 2015

#saveourboys vid = right sentiment, poor taste. Govt doing their best w/ diplomacy, short of Abbott & Bishop stepping in pair's place — Sarah Ayoub (@sarahayoub) April 27, 2015

Chan and Sukumaran could be executed as early as midnight on Tuesday, after Ms Bishop received a letter from her Indonesian counterpart offering no hope of a reprieve.