I’m Game Review: Dulquer Salmaan’s Thriller Starts Strong but Slows Down

I’m Game Review: Dulquer Salmaan’s I’m Game takes an unusual route with its story and manages to keep things interesting, especially in the first half. Directed by Nahas Hidayath, the film mixes fantasy, thriller and action elements around a man who suddenly finds himself unable to control his own right hand.

Dan John, played by Dulquer Salmaan, is not exactly living a disciplined life. Although he works in his family business, gambling has become his biggest weakness. He keeps borrowing money and placing bets, even after suffering heavy losses.

Things take a serious turn when his mother Mercy, played by Jayasudha, gives him Rs 60 lakh from her savings to clear his problems. Dan instead loses the money while betting on cricket. His attempt to get the money back ends in a car accident, leaving him without his right hand.

Doctors later perform a transplant and give Dan another hand. At first, everything appears to be going back to normal. His physiotherapist Isha, played by Kayadu Lohar, also becomes part of his new life. But then something strange begins to happen.

Dan realises that his new right hand does not always follow his instructions. It starts acting on its own, creating situations that he cannot understand or control. This is where I’m Game finds its most interesting stretch.

The film becomes much more engaging once this strange behaviour comes into the picture. Dan’s attempts to stop his own hand lead to several entertaining moments. The tension rises further when the hand suddenly tries to attack David, played by Mysskin, at a betting centre.

The interval portion is one of the better sections of the film. The conflict between Dan and his own hand is handled in an interesting way, and the mystery surrounding the transplanted hand gives the audience a reason to stay invested in what comes next.

The second half, however, does not maintain the same momentum. Dan begins looking into the identity of the person whose hand he received, and the story moves into a flashback involving Vicky, played by Antony Varghese.

That portion feels more familiar. The cricket backdrop does not offer much that is new, while the emotional scenes involving Vicky fail to create the impact the film seems to be aiming for. Mysskin’s David also comes across as a fairly routine antagonist.

The movie picks up again when it returns to the present timeline. The final action sequences involving Dan and the uncontrollable hand provide some fun, but by then the lengthy second half has already taken away some of the excitement built earlier.

Dulquer is easily one of the biggest positives. He carries Dan’s character comfortably, looking stylish in the early portions and convincing himself as a man struggling against his own hand. The sequences where he appears to fight his own right hand are particularly well executed.

Antony Varghese makes a decent impression, while Kayadu Lohar and Samyuktha Viswanathan do what their roles demand. Mysskin gets a role that could have offered more but remains fairly predictable.

Jakes Bejoy’s music adds energy to several scenes and works well with the film’s thriller and action portions. The technical work is generally solid, though the runtime could have been trimmed. A tighter edit, especially in the second half and the flashback, would have made the film considerably sharper.

I’m Game has a genuinely interesting central idea and gets plenty right in its opening half. The film loses some steam later, but Dulquer’s performance, the unusual hand concept and a few well staged sequences make it worth a watch for viewers looking for something different.