Sometimes, love just hurts. Brace yourself for a new type of action movie. LOVE HURTS, starring Ke Huy Quan, promises to be a “visceral, high-octane story of wrath and revenge.” Quan, an 80s pop culture icon(Data from The Goonies and Short Round from Indiana Jones), has recently made his way back to stardom. His appearances in Marvel’s Loki and Everything Everywhere All At Once have brought him to star in a new role – his first major leading man role as an unlikely hero. But can it hold true to its word?
About LOVE HURTS
Quan stars as Marvin Gable, a realtor working the Milwaukee suburbs, where ‘For Sale’ signs bloom. Gable receives a crimson envelope from Rose (Oscar® winner Ariana DeBose; West Side Story, Argylle), a former partner-in-crime that he had left for dead. She’s not happy.
Now, Marvin is thrust back into a world of ruthless hitmen, filled with double-crosses and open houses turned into deadly warzones. With his brother Knuckles (Daniel Wu; Tomb Raider, Warcraft), a volatile crime lord, hunting him, Marvin must confront the choices that haunt him and the history he never truly buried.
Overall
Let’s just cut to the chase here. LOVE HURTS is short and sweet at 83 minutes long, just enough time to finish off that bucket of popcorn. The plot is super basic, not too many twists and turns. In the beginning of the film, a lot of time is spent on Quan’s character, Marvin Gable, and who you think he is. And then blammo – everything changes. As a matter of fact, there were times we weren’t even sure what the plot was exactly. But the action, now there is another story.
While I may have said the plot had no twists, turns or meaning, the action was ALL over the place. There were fast cars, knives, blood, guns, kung-fu moves and blood – did I mention blood? The action is enough to keep you in your seat wondering – omg just how much more can I take before I look away?
For such an action packed movie, the acting was fairly decent. Ke Huy Quan did an excellent job with his Clark Kent-esque role, as opposed to Ariana DeBose – I’ve seen much better from her. DeBose’s character seemed aloof and unenergetic, while supposedly being a mastermind. I really liked the storyline between Lio Tipton (Crazy, Stupid, Love., Lucy) and Mustafa Shakir (Emancipation, Luke Cage). I did not expect to be so fully invested in their little part in this film.
Another bonus to this film is the mini-reunion between The Goonies stars Ke Huy Quan and Sean Astin. It’s a short lived role, but then again, this is a short movie. It’s sweet to see them together again.
LOVE HURTS is a fun variation of the typical Valentine’s Day movie. There was humor throughout the movie and so much action you just can’t stop watching it- even if that means peeking through your fingers while your eyes are covered. While I’m not sure if I would watch it again, I definitely didn’t not like it. As my husband said as we left the movie, I didn’t like it, but I liked it. It’s just one of those movies that you just have to say “yeah, I saw it.”
But, is LOVE HURTS a “visceral, high-octane story of wrath and revenge?” Let’s just say it is high octane, but regarding its level of gore and blood. LOVE HURTS is rated R for strong/bloody violence and language throughout. Seriously, this could be a PG-13 movie if the amount of bloody violence was less.
LOVE HURTS is in theaters now. Grab your tickets, if you dare, and come back and tell me what you thought!
LOVE HURTS – IN THEATERS FEBRUARY 7
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A Disney blooded, crafty, fun-lovin’ wife/mom/organizer/planner, etc who is obsessed with all things Disney 🙂 Maria grew up with the Magic Kingdom and has loved watching WDW evolve into what it is today. A firm believer in the Power of Pixie Dust, she is the owner of The Disney Driven Life – A Community for Neurotic Disney People & a d.i.y. crafty blog, Carousel of Projects – create~inspire~share.
