Love Hurts - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Love Hurts



Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:



AV NIRVANA is member and reader-supported. When you purchase an item using our links, we might earn an affiliate commission.
​

Movie
Not seen since 2002, Ke Huy Quan vanished from the silver screen to focus on being a stunt coordinator (to this day, I was unaware that he was a martial artist) due to feeling that there was a lack of opportunity in Hollywood for someone like him. However, with the sudden resurgence after his award wins in Everything Everywhere All at Once, his career has pulled a bit of a Keanu Reeves. Suddenly, he was in demand once more, and he has been getting offers left and right. Most noticeably in Love Hurts, which promised to bring us the same kind of fun as John Wick, Nobody (one of my favorite sleeper hits of the last few years), and Bullet Train. So naturally I was sold. I had no idea that Ke Huy Quan was a martial artist, but I was totally on board as each of the three above-mentioned films were fun popcorn films, and I’m all for old school revenge action movies making a comeback.

Marvin Gable (Ke Huy Quan) is an overly perky and enthusiastic Realtor who is happy about his life and mission of finding everyone their perfect home. He spouts overly optimistic one-liners at his assistant Ashley (Lio Tipton), who is his polar opposite in terms of personality. However, this Valentine's Day is going to be a BIT different than his normal house showings. Upon setting foot into his office, the nerdy Realtor is confronted by a deadly assassin known as “The Raven” (Mustafa Shakir) who tries his best to kill Marvin. Turns out, Marvin is more than meets the eye, as the mild-mannered and soft-spoken Realtor turns into a Kung-fu machine, beating the ever-living tar out of The Raven and making his escape.

As you could probably guess from that opening scene, Marvin led a different life prior to going into the Real Estate business. His old life happened to be a ruthless enforcer for his mob boss brother Alvin “Knuckles” Gable (Daniel Wu), only to escape from that life after refusing to carry out a hit on a woman named Rose (Ariana DeBose). As much as he doesn’t want it, Marvin’s past has caught up with him, with Knuckles sending goon after goon to bring Marvin back into the fold and also reveal where Rose actually is (he faked her death for Knuckles). Rose supposedly stole several million dollars from the mob boss before her disappearance, and now that Knuckles knows that she is alive, he will stop at nothing to bring her back and make her pay for her slight against him. Naturally, that means Marvin has to keep his brother out of the way, save Rose, and possibly find his true self this Valentine's Day.

Love Hurts reminds me of a weird mix of Nobody and Bullet Train. It uses that time-honored clichéd action trope of the super duper ex-military/assassin who is living a normal life, only for some piece of his past forcing him to come out of retirement ala Nobody. Simultaneously, it sports a highly frenetic action/comedy reminiscent of Bullet Train. Personally, it was something I had to adjust to, as the two types of action movies blending together felt odd. On one hand, we had that brutal and violent Nobody type of revenge thriller, with R-rated action, gore, and people randomly getting dismembered and diced up. Only for Ke Huy Quan to lean heavily into the slapstick humor aspect of it, and play fast and loose like Bullet Train. After a while, I sorta dug the “I’m a super nerdy good guy, but also a deadly assassin” vibe as the movie goes on, but it took a while.

At the same time, there were some definite writing issues in terms of characters and plot holes. For one, Marvin’s super-tough bad guy persona just wasn’t really believable. Ke Huy Quan did well playing Marvin the Realtor, but Marvin the assassin/enforcer felt forced. Also, the romance between the Raven and his assistant, Ashley, was just out of place. I get that this was an 84-minute movie in a one-day time period, but even then, the whole romance just felt out of place and OVERLY cheesy. The same can be said for Knuckles and Marvin’s final face-off. The fight itself is superb, but the dialogue and their bickering about the past just feel cheesy and sort of 1980s Cynthia Rothrock level hammy.

Honestly, the film isn’t bad, though. I had a good amount of fun, and Ke Huy Quan was delightful as Marvin. I was genuinely surprised to see how good of a martial artist he was, though, and really hope that in the future he’s able to get a better script for his next film, and push his action abilities to the forefront again. As such, Love Hurts is a fun little time waster, but sadly isn’t AS good as Bullet Train or Nobody (let alone John Wick, which I still hail as the very definition of a perfect action movie).




Rating:

Rated R for strong/bloody violence and language throughout.




Video:

Much like most modern digital shoots, Love Hurts is an immaculate and clean-looking production that just sparkles in 1080p. I wouldn’t say that colors are completely “natural”, but they’re fairly neutral with only a slight blue push at times, or a push into the amber tinges every once in a while. Otherwise, it’s a brightly lit film that pushes strong color saturation (especially with reds and pinks, I noticed). Fine details are amazing throughout, with even the copious fight scenes showcasing immaculate detail level on clothing and background textures. About the only thing to complain about was that the CGI blood and (sometimes) weapons could look a bit fake when comparing directly against very obvious practical set pieces. Black levels are deep and inky, and except for some mild softness here and there (such as in Knuckles' office during their final battle), it looks pretty stinking clean.









Audio:

Cream of the crop in this Blu-ray package is naturally going to be the stellar Atmos track found on board. It’s a robust and active sounding mix, with tons of activity all he way around, with great surround usage, some amazing discrete and ambient effects in the overheads, and very clean main usage. Vocals are cleanly replicated up in the front of the room, and when the action kicks off, the bass track makes its appearance. HOWEVER, there were a few minor instances (such as Rose making her escape in the Firebird for the final encounter) where I felt the engine could have used a bit more punch in the low-end department. That being said, the constant barrage of bullets, fisticuffs, and general mayhem keeps the excitement high and the bass punchy for a vast majority of the track.











Extras:

• Alternate Ending
•Deleted and Extended Scenes
-- Lovers in the Park
-- Dog Poop
-- Last Client
-- Dead Roses
-- Extended Knuckles and Merlo
-- Kippy's Teeth
-- Extended Otis and King
-- Extended Raven and Ash
•The Ke to Gable – Witness Ke Huy Quan's rigorous training regimen with the 87North stunt team that helped prepare him for the role of Marvin Gable.
•The Heart of LOVE HURTS – Journey behind the scenes with Ke Huy Quan, Ariana DeBose, Marshawn Lynch, and the rest of the exciting ensemble cast of LOVE HURTS.
•Stunts Hurt – Explore the intensive process behind creating the spectacular fight sequences in LOVE HURTS.

Final Score:

​

I will admit that I was a bit skeptical of Ke Huy Quan as a leading action star going into this viewing, but coming out, I was VERY surprised by his physicality and comedic timing. It WAS a bit weird hearing Short Round’s voice come out of a mean, lean action star, but after a while, he grew on me. My only hope is that his next leading film will give him a better script and cast to work with, as this one was a bit choppier and sillier than I would have liked. The Blu-ray is near perfect, though, with great video, perfect audio, and actually some decent extras to go along with the set. So fans will definitely want to check out the 4K or the Blu-ray. Solidly recommended as a fun watch.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Ke Huy Quan, Ariana DeBose, Mustafa Shakir, Lio Tipton, Daniel Wu
Directed by: Jonathan Eusebio
Written by: Matthew Murray, Josh Stoddard, Luke Passmore
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 AVC
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos (7.1 Dolby TrueHD Core), Spanish DD+ 7.1, French DD 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
Studio: Universal
Rated: R
Runtime: 84 minutes
Blu-Ray Release Date: April 1st, 2025

Recommendation: Solid Watch

 

[Asere]

This one was better than expected. Kept us entertained.

 

[Michael Scott]

This one was better than expected. Kept us entertained.

yeah, it was fun. still weird hearing short round's voice come out of an adult lol. I guess my childhood was definied by Indiana Jones and Goonies

 

[Asere]

Aperantly he did all the stunts. He's a 2nd degree taekwondo.

 

[Michael Scott]

Aperantly he did all the stunts. He's a 2nd degree taekwondo.

yeah, I've been a martial artist and martial arts movie fan for 25 years. you could tell he did all (or at least the vast majority) of his own stunts

makes sense, as he's been a stunt coordinator for almost 20 years I found out.