“Love Hurts” Review – A Breakup Between Action, Romance, and Coherence

by Tom February 6, 2025

Love can be messy, complicated, and sometimes downright painful—just ask “Love Hurts.” This action-rom-com mashup promises bullets and butterflies but delivers more bruises than feels. With Ke Huy Quan swapping hitman duties for house showings and Ariana DeBose bringing both charm and chaos, the film sets the stage for something wild and fun. Unfortunately, it spends more time tripping over genre clichés than hitting its emotional mark.

“Love Hurts” Review – A Breakup Between Action, Romance, and Coherence

– “Love Hurts” falls flat in its attempts to create a throwback exploitation action comedy.
– Jonathan Eusebio, the first-time director, offers blurry fight scenes, a threadbare script, inappropriately cast stars and insipid dialogue.
– The chemistry between Ke Huy Quan and Ariana DeBose, who plays Marvin’s old flame, lacks steam and undermines the believability of their romance.

“Love Hurts” struggles with the aspect of commitment that it so evidently needs. The supposed romantic-action-comedy aspires to be a modern retro-themed exploitation film but lacks dedication to the romance, action, and comedy it promises. This is fitting, given that the film tracks the everyday life of Marvin Gable (Ke Huy Quan), a past hitman turned realtor, who must confront the ghosts of his old life. Threatened by these resurfacing memories, Marvin questions whether in selling houses, he also sold himself an artificial life. These ambiguous undertones signal a thin plot that is hard to invest in. Despite Quan’s good intentions, the film struggles to offer any segments that resonate.

Jonathan Eusebio, making his directorial debut with this film, appears to have slipped in his transition from fight coordinator often working with David Leitch, most recently on “The Fall Guy”. Backed by Leitch—a heavyweight in the industry—Eusebio’s “Love Hurts” falters before crashing entirely. The fighting scenes are hazy, and the film’s sour tone grates on even the most patient viewer. The overwritten but surprisingly thin script appears to be an attempt to pad the length. It’s unclear if the film’s stars are miscast or burdened with painfully mundane dialogue.

“Love Hurts” stumbles between trying to echo “Rumble in the Bronx” and emulate ’70s exploitation cinema. Attempting to present Marvin as an unobjectionable, lovable man, the film falls short. Even Quan’s charming persona is overshadowed by the jerky editing. Over the extensive 83-minute runtime, Quan’s charismatic character lacks a fitting counterpoint.

The film reunites Astin and Quan from ‘The Goonies,’ but even Astin’s character struggles to make an impression. Ariana DeBose, as Marvin’s former lover, disappointingly misses the mark as a seductive femme fatale, a stark difference from her past work. “Love Hurts” struggles to convince viewers of its emotional depth. Marvin’s determined clinging to his mundane life, even in the face of danger, feels unrealistic. Quan and DeBose’s chemistry lacks spark, and their love story is reduced to a predictable narration.

Furthermore, “Love Hurts” disappoints as an action film, failing to deliver memorable fight scenes or deaths. The fear of gore and over-choreographing inhibits the film’s visual appeal. Even with a captivating score, cinematography fails to strike a balance in the glittery-tainted scenes, making it feel more like imitation than genuine aesthetic choices. It exemplifies how Hollywood knows action cinema’s ingredients but has lost the formula.