Naomi Ackie plays the famed singer in this highly predictable biopic. She does a credible job of acting and lip syncing (Houston’s original vocals are used), channeling the singer’s determination and demons. The story of her rise to fame and struggle with drugs is pretty well known, so it’s up to the writer and director to give this story a creative approach to it to another level. There wasn’t much struggle to get famous, so there’s not a lot of excitement there. Her romantic relationship with Robyn Crawford is given much more attention than expected. Finally, her issues with Bobby Brown and drugs provided the biggest opportunity for drama, but it’s relatively bland. As it is now, this film is like watching a Wikipedia biography with a sound track of Houston’s greatest hits. 
(2.5 / 5)
