The movie follows the musical career of Tina Turne, and her encounter with charismatic Ike Turner. The rise to stardom and the series of challenges that she faced on her way to stardom.
Angela Bassett gives a superbly versatile performance as the heroine, and Laurence Fishburne's portrayal of Ike Turner consolidates his status as one of the most expressive and intelligent actors in movies today.
Their nuanced performances give a spectrum of emotional shadings to a black-and-white script that casts Tina as the Beauty to Ike's unreconstructed Beast.
Basset genuinely holds your sympathy as the little country girl Anna Mae Bullock, singing and suffering her way to superstardom and personal liberation, [and] Fishburne is sensational.
Fishburne's astonishing portrayal of Ike is what holds the movie together. The actor builds, in precise increments, a devastating portrait of a macho control freak; he even finds a kind of ghastly humor in the character's madness.
Though the picture rightfully belongs to Bassett, a final word must be said about Fishburne, who never fails to make Ike seem human if not defensible. Even in defeat, he is remarkably compelling.
It's an astonishing movie, first because despite the pathology of the relationship, it's not only about victimization; it's a celebration of spirit, both religious and human, about a woman who finally found the guts (and the faith) to say "No more."
[Fishburne's] performance is the one X factor in What's Love Got To Do With It, which in most respects is an entertaining if conventional pop star biography.
A powerful portrait of emotional endurance, propelled by the outstanding performances of Bassett and Fishburne, both of whom lend a crucial dimension to the gradual redundancies of Kate Lanier's otherwise insightful screenplay.
