In trying to market it as a romantic movie for couples to see together on Valentine’s Day, “Love Hurts” was given an ill-advised release in February 2025. That botched marketing decision turned the movie into one of the biggest box office bombs of 2025. Luckily, it’s been doing well since it arrived on streaming, and deservedly so. Ke Huy Quan stars as Marvin Gamble, a mild-mannered real estate agent who thought he had left behind his former life as a ruthless hitman. But things get complicated when Rose (Ariana DeBose), a figure from the old days, comes back into the picture — along with his long-buried feelings for her.

“Love Hurts” is a clever mix of rom-com and action comedy — with the action featuring a healthy dose of the kind of brutal, stylish, one-man-army fight scenes that have been all the rage since “John Wick.” Obviously, fans of Ke Huy Quan and action comedies will want to see “Everything Everywhere All at Once” next, in the unlikely event that they haven’t already. After that, we’ve got a few other movies to recommend that will appeal to anyone who appreciates the way “Love Hurts” mixes satisfying action with comedic elements and a dash of romance. 

A man who is incapable of feeling pain seems like the perfect action movie hero. But Nathan Caine (Jack Quaid) — who was given the teasing nickname “Novocaine” by his middle school bullies because he has that very condition — just wants to live a quiet life as an employee at a credit union. However, when that credit union gets robbed and the co-worker (Amber Midthunder) he hooked up with the night before is taken hostage, Nathan suddenly feels emboldened to take matters into his own hands. After all, it’s not like they can hurt him, right?

Nathan’s ability to take a lot of punishment — though not really dish much out — makes “Novocaine” a different kind of action movie. It also makes it a hilarious one, as the movie is constantly finding all types of injuries to throw at Nathan that he simply laughs off while the audience winces. It’s a terrific showcase for Quaid, who has slowly been proving that he has all the talent and charm to become a top-tier A-lister even if he didn’t happen to have famous parents (Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan, on the off chance you didn’t already know that). 

Any time Sam Rockwell pops up in something, you know you’re in for a treat. That is certainly true for “Mr. Right,” Rockwell’s underrated 2015 action rom-com where he plays Francis, a hitman with a particularly unusual quirk — when someone hires him for a job, he hits the customer instead of the target. When Francis starts dating a woman named Martha (Anna Kendrick), and she finds out that he’s not only a hitman but one that doesn’t follow the usual rules, she has to decide if that’s a red flag she can overlook for the sake of their undeniable chemistry.

Speaking of chemistry, Rockwell and Kendrick have it in spades here, and it goes a long way toward smoothing over some of the movie’s rougher edges. “Mr. Right” is far from a perfect movie, and easily the worst one on this list, but it’s still an extremely fun time and a must-watch for fans of romantic action comedies — which, as this list makes apparent, is actually an entire subgenre unto itself. As a bonus, the movie also features rapper RZA playing a character named Shotgun Steve. Need we say more? 

Despite wowing audiences with his transition into dramatic acting via “Breaking Bad” and “Better Call Saul,” people still wondered how Bob Odenkirk became an action movie lead for “Nobody.” But those doubts were silenced once the movie was released to an 84% “fresh” score on Rotten Tomatoes, with a critical consensus that proclaims, “Bob Odenkirk has what it takes to be an action star.“

Interestingly, despite its lead actor having a far deeper and more acclaimed legacy in comedy than anyone else in this article, “Nobody” is actually the least funny film on this list. It’s much more of an action movie with some funny moments than an outright action comedy, though there are enough comedic moments — guided by Odenkirk’s undeniable skill in that arena — to qualify it as a recommendation here. 

As for the premise, Odenkirk plays a father and husband who lets life beat him down and everyone walk all over him. But a series of events reveals that this man who everyone thought was a doormat is actually a ball of violent rage, who’s finally pushed to reveal the particular set of skills he’s long kept hidden. 

Despite it being his breakout role, and also being a steady gig, Steven Yeun wasn’t that upset when Glenn was killed off on “The Walking Dead.” Being a main cast member on such a demanding series didn’t allow much time or energy for other productions, and Yeun was eager to prove that he was a lot more than Glenn. He has spent much of his post-“TWD” career picking interesting projects and turning in stellar performances that should surely reinforce the actor’s confidence in his talents and ambitions.

One such project is “Mayhem,” which veers our action comedy recommendations into horror territory. But don’t assume that an action comedy horror movie wouldn’t be suitable for “Love Hurts” fans. So long as you have the guts for a scary movie and the stomach for buckets of blood, the two films aren’t as different as you might think.

“Mayhem” also stars a seemingly mild-mannered man with an everyday job who finds himself not only drawn into violence, but partnering up with a woman from his past (Samara Weaving) on said violent path. Only this violence involves a virus that causes people to lose all inhibitions and act on absolutely every impulse they feel — which, for some people, unfortunately includes murder.

When a movie has a title like “Shoot ‘Em Up,” it obviously knows exactly what it is and isn’t trying to be anything more than that. Sure enough, this 2007 action comedy romp is essentially a live-action cartoon — right down to protagonist Mr. Smith (Clive Owen) chewing on carrots and literally saying “What’s up, doc?” at one point. There is definitely a plot here, but it’s of little importance or consequence. All it does is provide the thread that connects each of the movie’s increasingly ridiculous and entertaining fight scenes, shootouts, and set pieces.

“Shoot ‘Em Up” lets you know what you’re in for pretty early on, when Mr. Smith is tasked with literally having to deliver a baby during a gunfight. Along for this gleefully over-the-top ride are Monica Bellucci as the prostitute who becomes Mr. Smith’s love interest — see, it has a romance subplot — and Paul Giamatti munching the scenery harder than Owen munches those carrots as exactly the type of unhinged villain that a movie like this needs. His name is literally Mr. Hertz, as this movie has no interest in subtlety. And before you go assuming that this is the kind of movie only a fan could love, critics were surprisingly fond of it. None other than Roger Ebert gave “Shoot ‘Em Up” three-and-a-half out of four stars. Yes, really.