Rated R

LOVE HURTS puts Quan at the center of an action sub-genre: A mild-mannered suburbanite who happens to have been a ruthless killer in another life. When a mysterious figure from his past emerges, his quiet, pensive life is thrown into chaos.

I’m thrilled to see Quan get a potential franchise, something he has deserved since the mid-80s, and he gives it his all. Unfortunately, the film is stuck in second gear.

Most scenes bounce from overly-choreographed fight sequence to an info dump of extraneous exposition, then back to a different-yet-repetitive fight sequence. Add some bad lighting and murky cinematography, it’s also kinda hard to tell what’s happening half the time.

Co-star Ariana DeBose and Quan do a fine job with what they’re given. They just aren’t given much. Quan’s character seems led by the nose, and DeBose’s character has a cliché, two-dimensional “Tee hee… Ain’t violence fun” flair. These are two recent Oscar winners, for crying out loud! For them, LOVE HURTS hurts.

LOVE HURTS gets two candy hearts out of five. I’m Kevin Carr, and that’s the way I see it.

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