What's Love Got to Do with It 1993

Clifford Terry, Chicago Tribune: Brian Gibson, who directed the script by Kate Lanier, seems to have trouble taking charge of his material as he skips through the years. Read more

Gene Siskel, Chicago Tribune: A powerful, joyful, raw, energetically acted bio-pic detailing the joys and pain of the on- and offstage lives of blues rockers Ike and Tina Turner. Read more

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: 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. Read more

Jay Boyar, Orlando Sentinel: Angela Bassett is a wonderfully sympathetic screen presence who may have a big career ahead of her. Read more

Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer: 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. Read more

Jeff Shannon, Seattle Times: 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. Read more

Janet Maslin, New York Times: The brilliant, mercurial portrayal of Ike Turner by Laurence Fishburne is what elevates What's Love Got to Do With It beyond the realm of run-of-the-mill biography. Read more

Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader: As a powerhouse showcase for the acting talents of Angela Bassett and Laurence Fishburne and as a potent portrayal of wife beating and the emotions that surround it, it's quite a show. Read more

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: A splashy, volatile, crowd- pleasing rock-star melodrama that makes up in sheer emotional wallop what it sometimes lacks in finesse. Read more

Terrence Rafferty, New Yorker: 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. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: You don't have to be a Tina Turner fan to appreciate this movie, but, regardless of your opinion of her music, What's Love Got To Do With It cannot fail to impart an impression of her courage and inner strength. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: It's a story of pain and courage, uncommonly honest and unflinching, and the next time I hear Tina Turner singing I will listen to the song in a whole new way. Read more

Geoff Andrew, Time Out: Angela Bassett shakes her tail feather with aplomb and pins down the singer's gestures with amazing precision. Top honours, however, belong to Fishburne's swaggering, savage portrayal of Ike. Read more

Variety Staff, Variety: A passionate personal and professional drama that hits both the high and low notes of an extraordinary career. Read more

Desson Thomson, Washington Post: A melodrama of starry-eyed love and black-eyed beatings, exhausting road tours and the singer's even harder road to self-realization, the movie contains its emotional highs and lows in the hermetically sealed bio-pic format. Read more

Rita Kempley, Washington Post: A handsome woman with the lanky appeal of Katharine Hepburn, Bassett brays and bruises with equal effectiveness. Read more