The Stream: The writing is a bit off and kind of bland.

The Big Screen: It has a short runtime and good fight sequences.

The Final Bill: An interesting take on an action romantic comedy.

– S2S: Movie Review
Director: Jonathan Eusebio
Writers: Matthew Murray, Josh Stoddard, Luke Passmore
Stars: Ke Huy Quan, Ariana DeBose, Mustafa Shakir
Genre: Action, Comedy
Rating: R (Violence and strong language)
Runtime: 1 hour 18 minutes
Production Companies: 87North, Universal Pictures
Platform: Released in theaters February 7, 2025
Notable Trailers: Last Breath, Final Destination: Bloodlines, In The Lost Lands, Until Dawn, Megan 2.0, and Drop

Welcome back, Streamers! It’s the time of year to fall in love at the movies again, Valentine’s season.   This weekend brings us Love Hurts. Here, 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 buried.  Former secret agent hijinks ensue with Data kicking butt.

For a movie that I feel was destined to fly under the radar, they’ve produced a quick, hard-hitting action romcom. Who makes movies that don’t break and hour and half anymore?! Either way, that’s what you get to experience here. Primarily, this movie is just a way to show some cool fight scenes; and, secondarily, it’s a story about a man struggling with wanting his past but also wanting to not be defined by the things he’s done in the past. Lastly, the movie is an atypical romantic comedy that shows people how to get out of their own way and go after love. I’d say I put this movie in a way more elegant light than one might think. The writing is fine, but, ironically, it lacks some punch. I think the individual actors, except Ariana DeBose, delivered the lines well or at least how their character should. The writing just wasn’t fully there to make the movie have more of a defined tone at parts of the movie, either funny or romantic.

Nevertheless, as I said before, I have to give particular shout outs strong members of this cast like Mustafa Shakir, Marshawn Lynch, and Ke Huy Quan. Shouting out an Oscar winner seems a bit cheap, but it must be done. (I can’t say the same for Ms. DeBose, though.) The cast as a whole is pretty great in their individual roles, even our boy, Beastmode. Each one gets to show off in their individual ways, but it especially shows through their fight scenes. The scenes were dynamic and full of character. I didn’t enjoy some of the editing or effects they used to make hits seem harder than they were. Everyone was flying across the room left and right, so there’s enough going on to make it dynamic.

Short story short, Love Hurts is an entertaining quick film that is primarily about the action but throws in a love story or two in there as well. The cast does a good job, but something is lacking in the writing. Check this matinee film out with a bowl full of popcorn.