Dulquer Salmaan's ‘I'm Game’ opened to genuinely promising buzz, the first half had audiences convinced they were watching a career-best outing from the actor. Reviewers called it a ‘banger,’ praising Nahas Hidhayath's execution, the fantasy-horror hybrid concept, a standout pub fight scene, and an interval block that left theatres wow.

A surprise one-minute cameo added to the high, with viewers calling it a moment ‘no one predicted.’ Jakes Bejoy's music and DQ's energy were consistently flagged as the film's strongest assets going into the break.

But somewhere after intermission, the game changed and not for the better.

Also Read: Is ‘I’m Game’ a total distraction or Dulquer Salmaan’s next win?

Multiple viewers agree the second half is where ‘I'm Game’ stumbles hard.

The most common complaint is a flashback portion that drags the pacing down and derails the momentum built in the first half.

What started as a fresh, genre-bending thriller reportedly collapses into a usual revenge movie template by the climax, with the screenplay turning messy and predictable once things get serious.

Several reviewers pointed to Mysskin's villain track as a weak link, calling the performance cartoonish.

While the romance angle involving Kayadu Lohar's character was described as an arc that simply ‘didn't land.’ Editing in the fight sequences also drew criticism, with a few calling for tighter cuts.

That said, not everyone wrote it off entirely. Ratings across social media landed all over the map, from harsh 1.5/5 pans calling it one of the year's most disappointing Malayalam releases, to more forgiving 3-4/5 verdicts praising the climax and calling it a ‘mass and class’ watch.

The consensus middle ground, strictly average, one-time watchable, technically solid but let down by a shaky back half.

If there's one piece of practical advice across reviews, it's this, if you're chasing a tight, thrilling experience, watch till the interval and consider skipping the rest. The film's technical package (Jakes Bejoy's score, Chaman Chacko's editing in the first hour, Jimshi Khalid's cinematography) still makes it worth a watch on the big screen, even if the story loses its grip later.

So, is ‘I'm Game’ DQ's next big win or a loss?

Right now, it's neither a clean blockbuster nor a total washout, it's a film riding entirely on its first half's brilliance, with the second half testing just how far goodwill and star power can carry a movie. The picture, quite literally, was better before the interval.