Why So Blu?

Love Hurts (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)

2025 already feels like a revival of the exploitation film.  We’ve seen one with a superhero and one about a crazy pilot.  Now we have one about a former assassin trying to do good. Love Hurts debuted just in time for Valentine’s Day this year and was poised to continue Ke Huy Quan’s comeback after his historic Oscar win.  When the film failed to recoup its budget and went quickly to PVOD, it was fast tracked to physical media.  So now, making its way to 4K and Blu-ray, how painful is Love Hurts? 

 

Film

Marvin (Oscar® winner Ke Huy Quan) left behind a violent life to hide in suburban Milwaukee as a mild-mannered realtor. He also left behind Rose (Oscar® winner Ariana DeBose), his former partner in crime. Now she’s back and wants Marvin to help take revenge against his crime lord brother, Knuckles (Daniel Wu). Like it or not, Marvin finds himself back in a wild world of wisecracking hitmen with his open houses erupting into warzones. He’ll need his lethal fighting skills, wit, and heroism to survive and save the day in this action/comedy epic.

As a realtor, Marvin seemingly has his life together.  He fixes himself crock pot meals and makes cookies for his coworkers.  His listings sell better than any at his firm and he is content to go on this way forever.  Marvin’s routine is fool proof.  Then the bus benches and for sale signs started to be defiled.

Marvin quickly feels like someone has been watching him.  He finds a note that states “I’m back…” and believes it can be only one person.  A someone from his past.  At a cheesy office Valentine’s Day party, Marvin is confronted by someone from his past but not who left the note.  This someone is an assassin and he’s trying to kill Marvin.  This is the first time we see Marvin’s skills.  Marvin can fight and he fights his way to incapacitating the assassin and leaving him unconscious in his office.

As Marvin plans to escape the office, his boss pulls him inside and gives him an award.  He asks for the boss’s car and flees.  When Marvin gets home, two more would-be killers are waiting for him.  They tell him that they’ve been dispatched by Knuckles, his brother.  And we also learn that Marvin was once upon a time a hitman too.  No wonder he can fight and kill with the best of them.

After escaping the second and third killers, Marvin encounters his note-leaver: Rose.  Rose is the woman he “left for dead” before going straight.  The one woman he ever loved.  He told her never to come back, yet here she is. He finds out she had been swindled by his brother and his cohorts and is now out for revenge and to clear her name.  She may also have a thing for Marvin, and he may have a chance with her after all. A chance he never thought he had.

The events all break down to Marvin and Rose being pursued by Knuckles and his goons for a final showdown between the brothers.  Will Marvin prevail and continue his path to real estate stardom? Will Rose stick around or go back into seclusion? Will Knuckles win and crime prevail? Does Love truly hurt? All of that must be wrapped up in a scant 83 minutes.

Love Hurts was meant to be another charming star vehicle for Ke Huy Quan.  It had the potential to be something interesting. Coming from the same producers as Nobody and Bullet Train, the team knows how to make quirky action flicks.  The issue is that Love Hurts has the freshness of curdled milk.  There isn’t a stitch of originality. I began to worry when I started to check the time remaining on the display on my Blu-ray player.

I can luckily say that none of the issues really fall on Quan’s shoulders. He is still a charming and committed actor.  Even during so much cheesy dialogue and stale action, he rises above it. The writing is muddled where the genre shifts are concerned.  I felt an awkwardness each time there’s a change in mood.  A comedy scene butted up against a romantic one always comes up so strangely.  Speaking of strange, the zero-chemistry meter is off the charts of Quan and Ariana DeBose, who unfortunately continues to overact in this film just as she did in Kraven The Hunter. I continue to say that shouting does not equate acting in any way.

The rest of the cast often shows up to spout lines and move in and out of frame.  There doesn’t feel like there’s much life in the line delivery and it’s unfortunate.  If the cast believed in the work, it might have translated better on screen.  It’s easy to tell the film may have been DOA before heading to theaters.

Love Hurts could have been a great new excursion into action-comedy territory.  With an unconventional new star and a new spin on a tried-and-true formula.  Love Hurts ultimately falters and that’s a shame.  Ke Huy Quan and fans of the genres encompassed in the film deserve better.  At 83 minutes this could’ve been the fast and dirty exploitation film we were hoping for.  Instead, we get a cheesy, stupid retread of many things we’ve seen repeatedly done better.  Back to the drawing board… hopefully for something better than Love Hurts.

Video

Encoding: HEVC / H.265

Resolution: 2160p

Aspect Ratio: 2.00:1

HDR: Dolby Vision

Layers: BD-66

Clarity/Detail: Love Hurts may not have been my cup of tea from a story or film standpoint, however it’s a great looking 4K presentation. The Dolby Vision pass darkens things a bit but makes the colors look rich and deep.  Sharpness and contrast are key here and the camerawork keeps even the most minute items in good focus.

Depth: Focus and lensing are key here.  Not many moments appear out of focus and the digital camera work keeps things nearly flawless as rapid movement informs the action sequences.

Black Levels: Blacks go over perfectly every step of the way.  No crushing is in evidence.

Color Reproduction: Colors are rich and deep thanks to the Dolby Vision HDR.  Reds and browns are especially fetching.  Daytime sequences are especially bright with scenes in dark rooms or at night looking brooding but perfectly visible without losing any information.

Noise/Artifacts: Clean.

Audio

Audio Format(s): English Dolby Atmos, French Dolby Digital Plus 7.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1

Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish

Dynamics: The Atmos mix for Love Hurts brings some levity to the action sequences.  While the mix functions more like a dynamic 7.1 track, there is no denying the power of the sound design. Dialogue sounds great but so do action effects.  Fight scenes have some great panning and body blows dig deep with some nice bass.  Music sounds great too!

Height: Height speakers bring some fight sequences to new heights – Pun intended.  Hearing the angles of each blow as the fights move around the room is a treat. It’s a fun listen when these moments happen!

Low Frequency Extension: Bass makes fight scenes boom, while music also gets some good low end. This is not the most extensive bass I’ve heard lately but it’s nothing to complain about!

Surround Sound Presentation: Surround activity keeps things busy during fight scenes but also lively in scenes in bars and offices.

Dialogue: Dialogue is delivered clear always.

Extras

Despite not being the most profitable film of the year, bonus features for Love Hurts are surprisingly deeper than expected.  The featurettes aren’t long, but they are fun and show the crew and cast having more fun making the film than the audience will have watching it.

Bonus Features:

• Alternate Ending
• Deleted and Extended Scenes
  • Lovers in the Park
  • Dog Poop
  • Last Client
  • Dead Roses
  • Extended Knuckles and Merlo
  • Kippy’s Teeth
  • Extended Otis and King
  • Extended Raven and Ash
• The Ke to Gable – Witness Ke Huy Quan’s rigorous training regimen with the 87North stunt team that helped prepare him for the role of Marvin Gable.
• The Heart of LOVE HURTS – Journey behind the scenes with Ke Huy Quan, Ariana DeBose, Marshawn Lynch and the rest of the exciting ensemble cast of LOVE HURTS.
• Stunts Hurt – Explore the intensive process behind creating the spectacular fight sequences in LOVE HURTS.

Summary

Love Hurts is a big, missed opportunity for Ke Huy Quan’s return to the screen.  He deserved better and so do audiences.  The film is devoid of anything to say besides that it’s not very good. While the technical presentation on this 4K UHD Blu-ray is excellent, I can’t say the film is something to go into blindly.  Maybe check it out before making a purchase.  I know there’s an audience for this film somewhere, I just know that that’s certainly not me.

Get your copy Love Hurts HERE