by Hudson Moura
Jonathan Eusebio’s Love Hurts is an unfortunate exercise in genre overload—an action-packed martial arts spectacle that tries to blend romance, comedy, and crime drama but ultimately gets lost in its own ambition. Instead of a seamless fusion, the film stumbles between tones, leaving the audience disengaged, unsure whether to laugh, cheer, or roll their eyes.
A Realtor with a Past (That Won’t Stay Buried)
Ke Huy Quan stars as a former hitman who once worked as an enforcer for his crime-lord brother but has since turned his life around, finding unexpected peace and success as a top real estate agent. His tranquil existence, however, is shattered when a woman he once spared (Adriana DeBose) resurfaces, carrying secrets that reignite old betrayals. Adding fuel to the fire, his estranged brother, under the impression that she was long dead, comes knocking for answers—and for blood.
What follows is a string of high-energy, well-executed fight sequences that highlight Eusebio’s martial arts choreography expertise. The action is fast-paced and playful, often bordering on the cartoonish, which lends itself well to pure entertainment. However, the film’s lack of narrative depth and tonal consistency prevents it from being anything more than a passable popcorn flick. The story, intended to add emotional weight, instead feels like a series of plot points strung together with little investment in character development.
Talented Cast, Wasted Potential
Ke Huy Quan, riding high off his Everything Everywhere All at Once success and Oscar for his role, does his best with the material given, bringing a likable charm to his role. However, the film never fully commits to developing his character beyond the surface level of a man caught between two worlds. Meanwhile, Adriana DeBose—who, after winning an Oscar for West Side Story (2021), has struggled to find strong post-award projects—once again finds herself lost in a lackluster script. Following Argylle (2024), Kraven the Hunter (2024), and Wish (2023), Love Hurts only adds to a growing list of disappointing roles that fail to showcase her full range.
Supporting performances, while competent, suffer from the same issue—the actors are trapped in a film that lacks charisma and a compelling storyline. Even the crime-lord brother, a role that should exude menace and intrigue, is reduced to a generic villain with little nuance.
A Film Without Direction
The biggest flaw of Love Hurts is its identity crisis. It never fully leans into any one genre, making its attempts at humor feel misplaced, its romantic beats unconvincing, and its dramatic stakes weightless. Instead of a genre-blending success, the film ends up as a forgettable mishmash, enjoyable in fleeting moments but ultimately lacking a reason to care about its characters or their fates.
One of the film’s few inspired moments comes with the poet killer—a bizarre yet oddly compelling assassin who recites cryptic verses mid-fight, adding a fleeting touch of wit and surrealism to an otherwise uninspired narrative.
Despite its well-choreographed fight scenes, Love Hurts falls flat where it truly matters—storytelling and emotional engagement. What could have been a fun, self-aware martial arts rom-com instead feels like a movie that doesn’t quite know what it wants to be. In the end, it’s hard to feel anything other than indifference.
1.5/5