I'm Game Malayalam Movie Review- 2026

Movie: I'm Game — 2026

Director: Nahas Hidayanth

Production: Dulquer Salmaan & Jom Varghese

Cast: Dulquer Salmaan, Anthony Varghese, Kayadu Lohar, Mysskin, Kathir & others

Music: Jakes Bejoy

Cinematography: Jimshi Khalid & Jomon

Editing: Chaman Chacko

Release Date: 03/09/2026

Language: Malayalam

Genre: Fantasy, Supernatural, Comedy & Commercial

Rating: UA

 2.5/5

I’m Game — Came to Play, Forgot the Game! Though it's a losing one!!

01. What’s I’m Game Up To?

I’m Game feels like watching two completely different films stitched together — one built around Dulquer Salmaan's stylish, comic fantasy setup and the other around Anthony Varghese's emotional cricket-backdrop flashback.

Dulquer plays Dan John, a spoiled, irresponsible rich kid who is addicted to alcohol, gambling and a lifestyle that keeps pushing him deeper into debt. He is an absolute loser when it comes to gambling, yet his greed and never-give-up attitude keep dragging him into bigger trouble.

After a series of increasingly dangerous incidents, Dan loses his hand in a stylish chase sequence, leading to a bizarre hand-transplant fantasy angle. And this is where the film becomes genuinely entertaining.

The transplanted hand develops what essentially resembles alien hand syndrome, creating a number of comic situations as Dan struggles to control his own body. The first half slowly builds this world, and despite taking its time, it works. The concept is unusual, DQ's avatar is refreshing, and the film keeps getting crazier until a terrific interval bang.

But then comes the second half.

The film suddenly shifts its focus to Anthony Varghese's Vicky, a struggling cricketer whose career is shaped, elevated and eventually destroyed by Mysskin's David Abraham. There are emotional revelations, betrayal, sympathy and revenge — all of which individually work to an extent, but the problem is how badly they connect with the first half.

The central idea isn't entirely new either. Telugu audiences will immediately think of Savyasachi, while the broader body-part-transplant concept has been explored internationally before. What makes I’m Game different is the extravagant commercial packaging around it.

And that's both its strength and its biggest weakness.

The first half establishes its own world very effectively. The second half simply abandons that rhythm and goes in another direction for far too long. The runtime itself wasn't my problem — the synchronization was.

It genuinely feels like two different movies sharing the same protagonist.

02. Is It Worth the Watch?

One-time theatrical watch only for DQ fans and those who enjoy loud, experimental commercial fantasy. Otherwise, strictly OTT.

I was genuinely awestruck by Dulquer Salmaan here. MANNN! What style and grace. He enters this never-before-seen avatar with tremendous confidence, and for a while, you completely buy into the madness.

I actually enjoyed the first half without overthinking where the film was heading. Slowly, I settled into its weirdness and started enjoying the fantasy-comedy angle.

And then… BOOM!

The second half arrives and makes you question almost everything you've just watched.

Not because the flashback itself is terrible. There are emotional moments and decent revelations. The problem is that the film spends so much time away from the world it built that the transition becomes extremely difficult to digest.

For Malayalam cinema lovers expecting something rooted or fresh, this might feel like you've accidentally walked into a Tamil/Telugu commercial entertainer.

For audiences expecting realism — stay far away.

For youth audiences who don't care much about logic and simply want style, comedy, action and extravaganza, there is some entertainment to be found.

Everyone else? OTT is the safer bet.

03. What Clicks?

⭐ Dulquer Salmaan

DQ is the biggest reason to watch this film.

As Dan John, he is a stylish, alcoholic, irresponsible, comic loser, and surprisingly, he pulls it off quite well. This role itself is a tight slap to anyone who thinks Dulquer cannot fit into action-oriented or commercial protagonists.

He looks terrific, carries himself with immense style and gives the character enough madness to make the first half work.

The interval monologue is the highlight. Once Dan realizes what is happening with the transplanted hand, DQ's acting goes completely berserk — that sequence is made for whistles.

He occasionally looks like he's working harder than the character should, but overall, this is a very different DQ and he deserves credit for taking up the challenge.

Anthony Varghese

Anthony gets arguably the better-written role, but the character itself is familiar territory — the innocent, struggling guy whose life gets destroyed after trusting the wrong person.

He does what the role demands, especially during the emotional flashback, but the writing doesn't give him enough freshness.

Mysskin

As David Abraham, Mysskin does his usual thing effectively. Nothing particularly surprising, but he fits the villainous space well.

Kayadu Lohar

Sadly, her character is largely wasted.

The romantic track with Dan feels unnecessary and interrupts the main narrative rather than adding anything meaningful.

What Actually Works?

The fantasy-comedy portions of the first half.

The alien-hand-syndrome concept is easily the most enjoyable part of the film. Dan trying to live with a hand that seemingly has a mind of its own creates some genuinely fun moments.

And then comes the interval.

BANGER.

The monologue and DQ's performance are easily the most memorable portions of the entire film.

The flashback does contain some emotional material, but its placement seriously hurts its impact. By the time we reach it, the audience is essentially asking:

“HOLDDDD ONN! SO WHAT NEXT?”

And the answer is a 45+ minute emotional cricket flashback.

The audience eventually starts asking:

“HELLO DIRECTOR! COME BACK TO THE PRESENT!”

That's where the film loses its grip.

Technical Aspects

Cinematography is one of the film's positives. The visuals are rich, polished and stylish, with neon-heavy frames perfectly matching the nightlife and commercial atmosphere. The Hyderabad portions especially capture the city's party/nightlife culture nicely.

Music and BGM by Jakes Bejoy are surprisingly mediocre on screen. There are moments where the score feels like it should elevate the scene, but the screenplay doesn't allow it to land. Nothing remains particularly memorable after the film ends.

Editing is a major problem. The film feels amateurish in places, with unnecessary portions, abrupt transitions, the love track, songs and an extremely stretched flashback all affecting the flow.

The screenplay is messy, predictable and poorly synchronized, despite having an interesting central idea.

04. What Went Wrong?

Almost everything wrong with I’m Game comes down to execution and connectivity.

The director has a potentially entertaining commercial fantasy concept, establishes Dan's world reasonably well, delivers a fantastic interval and then completely changes the film's language.

The second half isn't bad because the flashback is inherently bad.

It's bad because the film makes us wait too long for it and then expects us to emotionally invest in a completely different story.

Anthony's cricket story follows a very familiar template — an innocent talent, a mentor figure, betrayal, destruction and revenge. We've seen variations of this countless times in Tamil and Telugu cinema.

Then the film connects all of that to Dan through the transplanted hand.

On paper, it sounds interesting.

On screen, it feels forced.

The biggest casualty is Dulquer himself. After building the entire first half around his presence, the film spends a huge portion of the second half without him. That's a risky decision for a movie that is clearly using DQ's pan-Indian image as one of its biggest selling points.

The commercial extravaganza also becomes excessive. The film tries to include comedy, horror, fantasy, action, romance, suspense, emotion, cricket, revenge and commercial masala — essentially everything.

But instead of becoming an exciting all-in-one package, it becomes a film struggling to decide what it actually wants to be.

And the climax?

Damn waste.

After all the buildup, it doesn't deliver the impact you'd expect.

05. Finally?

I’m Game is a mixed and ultimately below-average commercial experiment.

There is definitely ambition here. The film tries something different within the Malayalam commercial space, gives Dulquer Salmaan a completely different avatar and delivers a genuinely entertaining first half with a fantastic interval block.

But the second half destroys much of that goodwill.

The emotional flashback isn't terrible. The performances aren't terrible. The concept isn't terrible.

The connection between everything is terrible.

That's the problem.

Dulquer is stylish, energetic and surprisingly good in a space we haven't seen him explore this way before. The first half has enough madness to make you enjoy the ride. But the later portions become predictable, stretched and disconnected, eventually turning what could have been a fun experimental commercial entertainer into a mediocre experience.

Final Verdict: ⭐ 2.5/5

Theatre: Only if you're a hardcore DQ fan or enjoy loud commercial fantasy extravaganza.

OTT: Recommended. Probably the better way to experience it.

I’m Game has the style, ambition and a few terrific moments — but the game falls apart long before the finish line.