The perfect recipe for a Valentine’s Day movie is love, comedy and oddly enough, assassins. At least, that’s the case for “Love Hurts,” the new movie centered around the holiday of love, released on Feb. 7.
The movie follows Marvin Gable (Ke Huy Quan), a former assassin turned home realtor, living his life and helping people find homes. But after receiving a Valentine’s card from Rose (Ariana DeBose), someone he thought was gone forever, he is thrust right back into the world of assassins. As Marvin runs from his brother Knuckles (Daniel Wu), encounters other assassins trying to kill him and trying to protect Rose, Marvin has to figure out who he really is and what he actually wants to fight for.
For a Valentine’s Day movie, “Love Hurts” is enjoyable and quite fun, despite its serious moments. The small jokes throughout the film land perfectly, and Ke Huy Quan is comedic gold as he brings smiles and laughter from viewers. Likely the highlight of the whole movie, his character is both funny and extremely caring toward the people around him.
The writing and story work well for the concept rooted in the world of assassins. While the main plot revolves around revenge and breaking away from abusive people in one’s life, the film’s core message seems to encourage loving someone — and yourself — for all that they are, including the ugly bits. It is sweet watching Marvin realize that he no longer wants to hide from who he is. While the Valentine’s Day movie is cliché at times, it works in the grand scheme.
“Love Hurts” is incredibly successful in developing its characters, adding depth to the film’s plot twists. Each character is incredibly complex, with clear motivations behind their actions. The villain, Knuckles, is particularly unique — far from the broken, brooding type commonly seen in so many action movies today. It was refreshing to watch, even if all of his actions are deeply disturbing.
The movie also explores different types of relationships. Marvin and Rose share a past as colleagues who, deep down, love each other and want to be with one another. Their internal conflicts about each other and the events of the movie added so much more to their relationship. There is also a platonic relationship between the assassin duo King (Marshawn Lynch) and Otis (André Eriksen), a familiar character combination in quite a few assassin movies, where one member of the pair appears much smarter than the other, creating comedic relief.
The more familial brother dynamic and the eventual newfound love comes across strongly and is fitting for a movie about love — even in the world of killings and assassins. It is refreshing to see the movie play with different kinds of love, reinforcing the idea that Valentine’s Day is about so much more than romantics.
Being a movie about assassins, it is safe to say that there will always be top-tier fight scenes, and that was definitely the case for “Love Hurts.” These scenes provided further insight into the characters and their personalities. King and Otis, in particular, are fun to watch in combat, proving to be an explosive pair. Marvin, on the other hand, is precise, favoring hand-to-hand combat over guns, knives or other tools — though those still come in handy for him from time to time.
As far as Valentine’s Day assassin movies go, “Love Hurts” is enjoyable and funny, with a standout cast adding so much character to the film. Though it didn’t have a major release, and while many critics are calling out the dialogue’s simplicity or a half-thought-out plot, it is still a fun watch and well worth the 83 minutes.
Jocelyn Cosgrove is an Arts & Entertainment Intern for the winter 2025 quarter. She can be reached at jmcosgro@uci.edu.
Edited by Lillian Dunn and Jaheem Conley.