Alex Kirby here for the first ever installment of Press X, a look at the uneasy marriage of games and movies. And what better test case than Detroit: Become Human, a game already obsessed with being cinematic? Here, we don’t just ask if the latest video game adaptation is faithful — we ask if it levels up, glitches out, or just needs a hard reset.
Detroit: Become Human – originally released in 2018 by the cinematic-choice-game wizards at Quantic Dream (makers of Heavy Rain and Beyond: Two Souls) – is a narrative-driven, interactive experience that blurs the line between game and movie. First a PlayStation exclusive before making the jump to PC, Detroit hinges entirely on your decisions. Every dialogue choice, quick-time event, and moral dilemma branches into a web of possibilities that affect not only the story’s outcome, but each character’s personal journey.
You control three android protagonists:
• Connor, the deviant hunter walking a tightrope between calculated logic and budding humanity.
• Markus, a caretaker turned revolutionary icon, leading the fight for android civil rights.
• Kara, a domestic unit who defies her programming to rescue a young girl from an abusive home.
The movie adaptation of the same name, Detroit: Become Human, was penned by 'Queen Margot' GRA nominee Jack Slipter and directed by Denis Villeneuve. With the tough task to adapt a game that already is cinematic enough, how did they do bringing the game to life? Well its safe to say that Denis felt right at home with this one: Blade Runner 2049, Dune and even the tight intensity of Prisoners arrived in spades. His direction was the bright light in this grim, dark film.
The pink elephant in the room? No Connor.
Not a whisper. Not a glimpse. Not even a cheeky "Hello, Lieutenant." Fans clocked this glaring omission early—when the trailers dropped and their favorite fish-saving Android was nowhere to be found. The response? Swift and furious.
Twitter erupted. #WhereIsConnor? trended for days leading up to the film’s release, with fans demanding answers. Reddit user RK800 summed up the coping beautifully:
“Guys, they wouldn’t just cut Connor out of the story. Maybe they don’t want to spoil anything, so they’re saving him for the release!”
(Spoiler: they were not.)
The performances of the characters that weren't cut out of the film: Just about everyone delivered, but Woody Harrelson wouldn't have been my personal choice for Todd, the abusive father of Alice who lost his job when the Androids started taking everyone's job(a #1 source of hatred for Androids among humans in DBH.) Woody is a fine actor who can make the phone book interesting, but I think Bob Odenkirk actually resembles Todd from the game even more so than Woody.
The film itself is basically a full on adaptation of Kara and Markus' stories in the game, playing it too safe to the source material. You could definitely get a far better experience playing the game...and with Connor. The interactions between Connor and his Lieutenant would have added some much needed levity to the drama throughout. The pacing slows down the action too much and comes off as a little too bloated at times with so many characters its an endurance test on keeping up with who everyone is.
Despite many of its flaws and unforgiving omissions, audience turned out for this PG-13 adventure. $140M domestic and $208M oversees, the film managed a small profit of $3M off of a $168M budget. Some top critics were mixed: Some praised Denis' direction, others felt the supporting human characters were more interesting than the lead Androids.
It’s stylish. It’s moody. It’s mostly faithful. But it lacks soul — the very thing it pretends to explore. The game offered agency, consequence, and the freedom to shape these androids' destinies. The film offers two-thirds of that world, shackled by its own reverence for the source material. And by deleting Connor, it erased the glue that held it all together.
Now, if you'll excuse me, my mom says she's dropping me off her insurance if I don't find a real job. I tell her all the time I am working, but she won't be satisfied until I come home with sweat dripping off my fingers.
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