Love Hurts (2025)

The phrase “never say never” is one of the most consistent mantras in the entertainment industry, and if anyone is living proof of that, Ke Huy Quan is surely he. A fun and action-packed round two for Quan as a re-emergent action hero, “Love Hurts” also marks a strong directorial debut for 87 Eleven alum Jonathan Eusebio, with the movie packaging its big hearted Valentine’s Day story with the closest thing to Jackie Chan headlining a “John Wick” movie that fans of both will probably ever lay eyes on.

Trailer

Cast

Ke Huy Quan brings his friendly, amiable energy to his portrayal of the movie’s protagonist Marvin Gable, with Daniel Wu playing the film’s antagonist and Marvin’s brother Alvin a.k.a. Knuckles. Ariana DeBose portrays Marvin’s girlfriend Rose Carlise, with Mustafa Shakir playing his fearsome adversary Roger a.k.a. the Raven, and Sean Astin playing Marvin’s close business associate Cliff Cussick. Marshawn Lynch and Adre Eriksen also appear as assassins King and Otis, with Cam Gigandet portraying Renny Merlo and Lio Tipton appearing in the role of Marvin’s assistant, Ashley. 

Plot

Marvin Gable is regarded by all who meet him as the world’s friendliest real estate agent, and his success in his profession sees him climbing higher and higher up his company’s ladder. However, Marvin faces a very unexpected turn of events on what seems to be a normal Valentine’s Day with the arrival of knife-wielding assassin Raven in his office. Though Marvin manages to fight him off and escape, more assassins arrive to pursue him at home. As it turns out, Marvin is a retired assassin himself for a mysterious organization known as “The Company”, under the leadership of his brother Knuckles. After refusing an order to kill a lawyer named Rose when she swiped money from the Company, Marvin fell in love with Rose with the two fleeing to start a new life. The vengeful Knuckles eventually manages to track Marvin and Rose down, forcing Marvin to effectively come out of retirement to fight one last battle against his brother and the Company. 

Action

Ke Huy Quan Is One Of The Most Endearing Action Heroes Today

20 year acting hiatus or not, Ke Huy Quan has star power and then some as an action movie leading man. After his Oscar-winning comeback in “Everything Everywhere All At Once”, Quan has already cultivated a niche as the most cheerful spin-kicking warrior around, and one with a not-insignificant touch of a Jackie Chan-style underdog energy. Beginning his Valentine’s Day with the effervescent high spirits of the happiest man on Earth, Quan’s Marvin shifts to overwhelmed but resourceful action hero on a dime fighting enemy after enemy, many of them twice his size. Testimony to his belated but thoroughly deserved Oscar win, Quan is just about the most downright likeable action movie screen presence working today, and he makes that character trait the essence of Marvin as a man who makes his workplace, his town, and every other space he inhabits brighter and more pleasant by his mere presence.

Daniel Wu Is A Charismatic But Ruthless Villain

On the flipside, Daniel Wu’s Knuckles is just as engaging from a completely different end of the spectrum as the movie’s antagonist. A veteran of Hong Kong action movies, Wu’s versatility served him well as an anti-hero on “Into the Badlands”, and with Knuckles, Wu embodies a villain who represents what Sonny might have become as a sinister Barron of the Badlands, but his ruthlessness is also fully three-dimensional in his bitterness towards his brother. Like Marvin’s ridiculous levels of cheerfulness, Knuckles is cold and to the point, but also a believably realized human like his brother thanks to Daniel Wu’s grounded performance as a contrast to Quan’s exuberance.

“Love Hurts” Brings The Jackie Chan Template To An 87Eleven Movie

It’s also helpful and fitting that Quan’s aforementioned Jackie Chan-esque persona and physicality are assets he has in such strong supply, Jackie Chan being a very clear influence on the stunts and fight choreography of “Love Hurts”. Marvin’s fight scenes against his pursuers may have high stakes for him technically, but they’re consistently fun and funny in equal measure a Marvin outfights and outmaneuvers his opponents with the old Jackie Chan practice of putting every prop around him to use as a weapon, Marvin’s first office battle with Raven and his fight with two assassins at his home really puts the Jackie Chan comedic action flair to work with an 87 Eleven spin. 

The Finale of “Love Hurts” Really Ups The Intensity

While “Love Hurts” keeps its action and tone light-hearted and fun for the most part, Marvin’s final showdown with Knuckles and his henchmen darkens things up just enough for the needed life-or-death stakes. There’s still an endearing Hong Kong feel to Marvin’s spin-kicking brawl with Knuckles underlings (the finale set in a retro video store packed with martial arts films on VHS and adorned with classic kung fu movie posters on the walls), and in Marvin’s intense one-on-one with Knuckles, and the marriage of 87 Eleven and Jackie Chan styles of action really deliver a powerful finale to the movie’s high-spirited Valentine’s Day story, quite possibly the first and only one to date in which Bruce Lee’s famed one-inch punch gets put to work, to boot.

Summary

Jackie Chan and 87Eleven-style action make for a very winning combo in “Love Hurts”, with the movie continuing Ke Huy Quan’s epic return to the spotlight while marking an overall splendid directorial debut for Jonathan Eusebio. While a bit too short, “Love Hurts” nonetheless hits all the marks of comedy, stunts, romance, and action, with another impossibly endearing performance by Ke Huy Quan and a great villainous turn by Daniel Wu. With Ke Huy Quan batting two-for-two in his action hero comeback, his is one of the best cases ever made for the concept of coming out of retirement!

Favourite Quotes

• “I was in the middle of high intensity yoga. Can you give me a minute?” – Marvin, to one his office associates through his ajar office door while he restrains the Raven.

Trivia

• Ke Huy Quan is a second degree black belt in Taekwondo, having begun his training under Tan Tao-liang for his role as Short Round in “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom”.
• Ke Huy Quan and Sean Astin previously appeared together as child actors in 1985’s “The Goonies”.
• Ke Huy Quan and Daniel both also appeared on the Disney+ series “American Born Chinese”.
• Jonathan Eusebio’s previous credits as stunt man, stunt coordinator, and fight choreographer include the first three “John Wick” films, “The Avengers”, “The Wolverine”, “Ninja Assassin”, “300”, “Deadpool 2”, and “Violent Night”.

Film rating: 8/10

“Love Hurts” is now available on PVOD platforms and home media. Have you seen “Love Hurts? What are your thoughts on Ke Huy Quan’s epic Hollywood comeback? What other action heroes would you love to see in an 87Eleven movie? “Let us know in the comments below; Like, share and join in the conversation on Facebook and follow us on Twitter & Instagram. (And be sure to check out KFK’s FU-niverse of movie reviews and exclusive, in-depth interviews, grab your official KFK gear and subscribe for more action on YouTube, as well!)