In the action film genre, there are two camps you want to be in. You're either John Wick, a stylish breath of fresh air with some emotional depth, or you're a Jason Statham film and you fully commit to the mantra of style over substance.
Love Hurts falls somewhere in the middle.
The action/romance/comedy, directed by Jonathan Eusebio, sees Ke Huy Quan take on the role of Marvin Gable, a former hitman turned superstar realtor. His past catches up with him when Rose, played by Ariana DeBose, comes out of hiding and back into his life, which puts them in the crosshairs of his brother Knuckles, played by Daniel Wu.
Since winning his Oscar for Everything Everywhere All at Once, Quan has fully completed his career revival, now as a full-blown action star. He brings a warmth and charm to the role of Marvin that makes the audience immediately root for him. His unassuming nature, combined with his background in stunts and fight choreography, lead to a fun and exciting performance.
In a film like this, action is the one thing you must nail. Eusebio, who was the fight coordinator for the first three John Wick films, brings his experience to this film. The action is stylish, well-choreographed and well performed, with the entire cast doing most of their stunts. The highlight of the film is a fight between Marvin and Knuckles' henchmen King and Otis, played by Marshawn Lynch and André Eriksen. The fight utilizes creative camera work and environment usage, and highlights the work of all three performers.
In addition to Quan, there are standout performances from the supporting cast. Lynch and Eriksen are a fun duo that don't overstay their welcome — but the biggest standouts are Lio Tipton as Ashley, Marvin's right hand at his real estate business, and Mustafa Shakir as the brooding assassin, The Raven. Tipton is very much the audience surrogate — the one normal person among a slew of killers — and she plays the role really well. I have been a fan of Shakir for a while now and he brings a stoicism to The Raven that plays well with Tipton's energy. He also has a terrific physical presence on screen. Don't get me wrong, Quan is fantastic in the action scenes, but for me personally, Shakir was my favorite person to watch fight.
Together, Tipton and Shakir make up the film's best duo. They play off each other well and showcase genuine chemistry, despite their limited screen time. However, the relationship between Marvin and Rose feels under-developed.
Quan and DeBose don't have the same chemistry that Tipton and Shakir do, which was surprising given they both have Oscars on their mantle. DeBose is very entertaining when she's on screen but I would have liked the character to have a little more plot relevance, as a lot of Rose's dialogue is exposition, explaining what happened in the past. The most basic rule of screenwriting is show don't tell, and the film leans a little too much on the latter. Instead of seeing the history between Marvin and Rose, we are told it through a series of conversations and a lot of narration.
The script from writers Matthew Murray, Josh Stoddard and Luke Passmore keeps the film in the fun territory instead of ascending to the next level. An overreliance on narration and exposition leads to a serviceable story, but one in which you can see there's more to develop. Throughout the film we hear about what happened to Rose that forced her into hiding, but we never get to see it. The description of Marvin's past with Rose and Knuckles seems very interesting, but it could have been explored more deeply.
Speaking of Knuckles, Daniel Wu is an actor that I have enjoyed in other projects and he does the best with what he's given. I would have liked to see him have a bit more screen time, as he spends most of the film as a presence hanging over Marvin and Rose. When he does fully join the story, he brings a great deal of physicality to the character and holds his own in the action scenes with Quan.
Problems with the script aside, the film has slick action, some good laughs, and a charming lead performance. At the end of the day, Love Hurts could be a fun way to spend Valentine's Day. ~Ryan Donahue
3 out of 5 stars.
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