Love Hurts

r96sk 2/7/2025 4:32:20PM 8.4

<em>'Love Hurts'</em> is one I highly enjoyed, thanks to thoroughly entertaining action, a good cast and a nicely paced 83 minute run time. There are things that can be classed as issues, for example the internal monologues are iffy and it's perhaps a tad over sentimental in parts. Those aforementioned things aren't a big deal for me though, like at all. I'd recommend this and would happily revisit it, I'd imagine the rewatchability is pretty high. The pure action is great to watch, there is some top stunt work on show. It's super satisfying to see unfold. Ke Huy Quan brings a strong lead performance, as he is supported competently by Ariana DeBose - who has been extremely busy this last year or two, not that that's a negative as I do enjoy seeing her. Daniel Wu, Marshawn Lynch, André Eriksen and Sean Astin are decent too. Mustafa Shakir is the best behind Quan/DeBose, probably the best character overall in terms of the look, body language etc. Also, is it just me (most likely) or does he look/sound like he'd be a perfect Scar from <em>'The Lion King'</em> - I can't unsee it. If Disney ever go <em>'Cats'</em>-esque *shudder*, he's their man. It makes little sense and is too silly in certain moments, granted. However, I had the desired amount of fun with it.

CinemaSerf 2/13/2025 5:59:04PM 8.4

“Marv” (Ke Huy Quan) is a cheery real estate agent who’s just won an award for his sterling efforts when he receives an unwelcome visitor at his office. “The Raven” (Mustafa Shakir) is a poet, he loves his verse - but he’s also an useful man with his knives too, and after a few minutes we begin to suspect that this meek little estate agent has really got all the ninja skills of “John Wick”. It transpires that he used to be an enforcer for his sibling “Knuckles” (Daniel Wu) who has been mixed up with some Russians and is now worried that “Rose” (Ariana DeBose) has managed to wheedle some information from his missing accountant “Kippy” (Rhys Darby). Now she is supposed to have been killed already, but big brother is sceptical and because “Rose” and “Marv” have some past, it’s going to be down to him to find her before she finds him! The first ten minutes of this are quite good fun as it pokes some fun at the faux-sincerity of the “Glengarrry Glen Ross” brigade but thereafter it all just descends into a rather farcical affair with it’s lightly-comedic and repetitive fight scenes destroying some perfectly good fitted kitchens. Sean Astin features briefly, but to no real purpose as the cat and mouse game vacillates between the two teams and some family menace ensues. DeBose tries hard, for that matter so does Quan, but the story is the stuff of a very weak Jackie Chan affair that rumbles along predictably and without much charm. It’s short, which is a good thing, and it’s not un-watchable, but it’s not good either.

Manuel São Bento 3/9/2025 11:12:50AM 8.4

Despite the undeniable talent of Ke Huy Quan and Ariana DeBose, LOVE HURTS is a painfully generic action-comedy that does little to justify its rather short presence. While both actors bring their usual charisma and commitment, both are left stranded in a film that lacks creativity, effective humor, and even a basic sense of narrative cohesion. The occasional well-executed fight sequence provides fleeting moments of excitement, but they aren't nearly enough to compensate for the bland storytelling and underdeveloped characters. For a movie that leans so heavily on the concept of blending action with comedy, it fails to deliver enough of either to make the experience remotely engaging. What's most frustrating is how LOVE HURTS squanders its potential at every turn. The script feels like a first draft that never went through the necessary rewrites, riddled with incoherent plot points and lazy storytelling choices. There just isn't enough here to latch onto. The action isn't frequent or inventive enough to impress, and the comedy lands with a dull thud more often than not. By the time the credits roll, the only real takeaway is how much better both Quan and DeBose deserve. Rating: D+