Deus Ex to have its own cinematic adaptation

They've picked up one of the greatest franchises in videogame history, but can CBS deliver a movie that stands up to the original?

Deus Ex is one of the few videogame franchises that could effectively be cut-and-paste into cinema with minimal stylistic or narrative changes and still manage to work, which is why it's a relief that the rights to a big screen adaptation have finally been bought up by CBS; a co-president Terry Press praised the team's accomplishments and emphasised that he was keen to work with them "from day one, to make a film adaptation worthy of the Deus Ex name."

Last year's Human Revolution was a highlight amongst a crop of truly excellent games, combining elements of Robocop and Blade Runner into a sleek yet unsettling world that was neither utopia nor dystopia, covering every base of the socio-economic factors that underpinned its augmentation technologies and presenting them in a detached and impartial manner. We saw the poor, the rich, the gangs harvesting 'Augs' for their parts and the divisive battles, political or otherwise, between the humanists and the pro-augments. Individuals from all walks of life had their own view to impart, and no stone was left unturned in picking apart the hopes and fears surrounding this god-like tech, while maintaining an ambiguity and freedom of choice that never pushed the player towards any conclusion but the one they came to themselves.

It was a relatively easy feat to portray this in videogame form, as the open nature of the gameplay allowed players to mingle with the populace and chew over the many conflicting viewpoints that bombarded them, but it is going to take an extremely tight script and a gentle yet confident touch for Human Revolution's big screen adaptation to match the original. More to the point, I worry that the film might suffer from the same pitfalls that too many literary adaptations do, namely that condensing such a rich source into a tighter product is going to prove too much.

However, I shall choose to take that as validation of Human Revolution's strengths rather than an indictment of the team that CBS chooses to handle the project. Deus Ex has enormous potential to provide a brilliant and thought-provoking movie; on that basis, I will most definitely be looking forward to the finished product, as should anyone who loves intelligent and stylish sci-fi.