Action, comedy, and Beastmode. 'Love Hurts' is classic movie theater fun

"Love Hurts" is a short and sweet punch-em-up movie with plenty of extravagant, over-the-top displays that add up to a simple good time. Don't overthink it. Just have fun.

And yes, Marshawn Lynch is quite good in it and will make Seahawks fans proud (he's even credited as Marshawn "Beastmode" Lynch).

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In "Love Hurts," Marvin Gable is a quirky, fun real estate agent with a passion for selling homes to families. But he receives a card on Valentine's Day that sets in motion a series of events, forcing him to confront his past — a past filled with blood, mayhem, death, and all the other vicious attributes of a highly skilled gangster hitman. It all brings him back to old love and various bad guys, including Lynch. Each scene is not only punctuated by kicks, bullets, and blood, but also a bit of laughter.

"Love Hurts" is the latest offering in the "I used to be a badass, now I'm a mild suburbanite, but wait, I'm getting sucked back in and have to be a badass again" genre.

It's a small genre that has become crowded ever since 2014's "John Wick" (dog-loving suburbanite embraces his former life as an uber-violent assassin to get revenge). That film essentially ushered in our modern era of highly choregraphed violence built on top of a mysterious underground universe.

"Love Hurts" is brought to us by the same production company that gave us "John Wick," and also "Nobody" (a timid office worker gets no respect, but perspectives change when he is thrust back into is old ways as a deadly government assassin), and "Violent Night" (Santa Claus used to be a brutal warrior, but now he delivers presents and joy to children, however, you guessed it, he's forced to get brutal again).

There is really one main reason to watch a movie like "Love Hurts": The ballet of stunts, choreography, and violent spectacle across the screen. This ballet is quite enjoyable in this movie. While this brand of action has become common these days, "Love Hurts" stands out. Fights and stunts are not just about blood and guts, but also playful jokes. It brings to mind the antics of a Buster Keaton movie or a Jackie Chan film.

A lot of this could be credited to the fact that Ke Huy Quan leads this movie. After high profile roles as a kid in "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" and "Goonies," Quan continued to work in the film industry as a stunt and fight choreographer, skilled in taekwondo (before returning to acting a few years ago). In other words, he can really hit the ground running with a movie like this and raise the bar.

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The movie is fairly straight forward. Don't expect hidden meanings behind the lines, or to dissect the story too deeply. Know going in that, while this film does create a universe to play around in, its main selling point is the action — revved up and ridiculous action. Don't translate that as shallow. The actors in "Love Hurts" don't phone it in and deliver unique performances. One standout is actor Mustafa Shakir, whose role as "The Raven" is subtle, ruthless, and comical.

That is the main thing to understand going into "Love Hurts": Settle in for 83 minutes of near-constant choreography, some silliness, and a good time.

"Love Hurts"

4/5 stars

Screen or stream? Watch this in a movie theater so you can shout "Oh snap" and "Ahh!" while laughing along with everybody else. This is not a movie to stream while you sit on your couch, doom scrolling on your phone.

Rated R: Gore, blood, lots of violence, and do I seriously have to tell you this? Watch the trailer.

Good for kids? No.

If "Love Hurts" is your kind of film, I recommend binging on a few other "they pulled me back in" delights.

• "Commando" (1985): A former special forces colonel with muscles bigger than your head must leave his peaceful mountain life to save his kidnapped daughter.
• "History of Violence" (2005): A family man just wants to run his small-town diner, but must start throwing punches to fend of the mobsters who tracked him down.
• "The Foreigner" (2017): Quan (Jackie Chan) just wants to run his Chinese restaurant in London, but has to embrace his skills as a soldier to take on the IRA.
• "The Long Kiss Goodnight" (1996): Pretty much the same as these others, but with a twist — a suburbanite mom with amnesia.
• "Back in Action" (2025): Cameron Diaz and Jamie Foxx are CIA agents who faked their deaths to live a quiet family life, but social media ruins everything.
• "The Family Plan" (2023): Mark Wahlberg scrambles to hide his past life as an assassin from his suburban family after social media ruins everything — road trip!
• "The Man from Nowhere" (2010): A South Korean pawn shop owner has to take on ... everyone, to protect a little girl.
• What the heck, let's throw in the Rambo franchise and a bunch of Liam Neeson movies while we're at it.