The “Love Hurts” Reviews Really Do Hurt

The R-rated, 83-minute “Love Hurts” arrives in cinemas tomorrow, the film seemingly trying to give Oscar winner Ke Huy Quan his own “Nobody” or “John Wick” style vehicle.

In the film, Quan plays a realtor working in the Milwaukee suburbs where ‘For Sale’ signs bloom. He’s also a former hitman trying to have a normal life until his ruthless crime lord brother (Daniel Wu) begins hunting him down. Ariana DeBose, Sean Astin and Mustafa Shakir co-star.

Unfortunately the reviews for the film may hurt more than love. With 51 reviews counted, the film sits at just 16% (4.7/10) on Rotten Tomatoes with praise for some of the action and Quan’s performance, but not much else. It’s a similar story on Metacritic where it’s at 37/100.

Here’s a sampling of reviews:

“It’s a film you won’t fall head over heels for, but one you can’t help loving many parts of. You’ll just have to do your best to fondly recall the good parts, namely Quan and Lynch, while hopefully forgetting all the rest.” – Chase Hutchinson, The Playlist

“It’s a simple enough conceit, but one made consistently confusing by a distinct lack of energy, excitement, and cohesive editing. Never before has 83 minutes felt so very long.” – Kate Erbland, Indiewire

“There’s something immensely off about the tone, which isn’t clever or silly enough to be funny, and its ham-fisted attempts to tie it to Valentine’s Day.” – Lindsey Bahr, Associated Press

“Love may hurt, sure. But it’s not nearly as painful as being forced to watch a great actor stuck in a bad movie.” – David Fear, Rolling Stone

“Love Hurts proves that honest emotions aren’t everything; sometimes you can just buy yourself enough goodwill to get by with last-minute junk.” – Jacob Oller, AV Club

“Straining for its ungainly combination of action, romance and silly comedy, Love Hurts doesn’t fully succeed in any department.” – Frank Scheck, THR

“Most audiences want action to feel like action, whereas Eusebio makes it look too much like choreography: No matter how dynamic, every fight scene seems rehearsed to within an inch of its life.” – Peter DeBruge, Variety

“As Valentine’s Day treats go, however, Love Hurts is the cinematic equivalent of a wilted bouquet from a petrol station forecourt.” – Ryan Gilbey, The Guardian

“Sadly, Love Hurts is just another one of those lackluster, borderline embarrassing, failed John Wick knockoffs.” – Hoai-Tran Bui, Inverse

“Love Hurts” opens wide in cinemas from tomorrow.

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