Overview

There were a few things to enjoy. I liked The Raven and Ashely plot line, and it was fun seeing Marshawn “Beastmode” Lynch on screen. (I was there at the stadium in Seattle for the famous “Beast Quake” against the Saints in the 2010-11 NFL Playoffs.)

Ke Huy Quan was enjoyable. Fresh off his Oscar-winning performance in Everything Everywhere All at Once, Quan brings the same earnest charm to Marvin, though the script doesn’t give him quite the same emotional depth to work with. His physical comedy skills are great, but can’t carry the movie. My wife and I both thought that this movie feels a lot like a Jackie Chan Action/RomCom from the 90s. Like Chan’s best work in films such as Rush Hour and Shanghai Noon, Love Hurts attempts to balance action with humor and heart. However, where those films succeeded by keeping their plots simple and focusing on character chemistry, this film gets tangled in unnecessary plot complications.

The World’s Most Indispensable Movie App

The RunPee app tells you the best times to
run & pee during a movie
so you don't miss the best scenes.

As seen on

Download the RunPee app.
100% free (donation supported)

     

Read more about the RunPee app.

I’m not sure that adding the thriller plot to the story paid any dividends. Who cares who stole the money and why. It’s really not about that and detracts from the guy who has gotten out of the assassin business plot.

Reality vs. Entertainment

While the action sequences showcase impressive choreography, they highlight a growing issue in modern action films: the suspension of disbelief. Unlike the grounded brutality of films like John Wick or the intentionally over-the-top style of Everything Everywhere All at Once, Love Hurts sits uncomfortably between realism and fantasy, never entirely committing to either. The action is too obviously choreographed. It’s not possible to take the fight scenes seriously. Fortunately, most of them don’t take much time, but by the time we got to the final showdown I was bored with the fighting. They had already done everything cool they were going to do. I just wanted them to wrap it up.

I don’t mind the fighting choreography too much. What does bother me, for any movie, is the beatings that characters take and keep on fighting. I’m sorry, if you get hit in the arm with a baseball bat, your arm is going to shatter. If you get hit in the head, you don’t just shake it off and keep fighting. There’s no amount of willpower or training that’s going to help people keep fighting after a concussion. I know, it’s a movie, but to me it’s the most distracting thing in movies today.

It reminds me of this funny, and educational video from Wired Magazine.

Grade: C-

About The Peetimes: This is a very short movie. Only about 80 minutes, not counting the end credits.

What people are saying
about the RunPee app.

Michael Linhart

July 30, 2023

My bladder thanks you so much!! App works great for telling u when and for how long you have a pee break! I didn’t use the timer function so the dialog in the movie was a great clue as to when to go. I also liked the info about each movie to know whether there was any extra scenes during or after the credits. Nothing worse than waiting for all the credits and then no extra scene.

View all reviews
Apple App Store | Google Play Store

Download RunPee app

     

The beginning of the movie is packed with character introductions and action, so I couldn’t find a good early Peetime before 32 minutes.

The 2nd/last Peetime is the best. After this there’s a lot of plot and action scenes until the end.

There are no extra scenes during, or after, the end credits of Love Hurts.

Plot
A realtor is pulled back into the life he left behind after his former partner-in-crime resurfaces with an ominous message. With his crime-lord brother also on his trail, he must confront his past and the history he never fully bu…