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Based on Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 film High and Low, which was loosely based on the 1959 novel King Ransom by Ed McBain (the pen name of Evan Hunter), Highest 2 Lowest is Spike Lee’s modern-day reimagining. David King (Denzel Washington) is a music mogul making his fortune as having “the best ears in the business.” He established Stackin’ Hits Records, which was a huge record label for black artists in the early 2000s.

In the modern day, David lives in a penthouse suite overlooking all of New York City with his wife Pam (Ilfenesh Hidera) and 17-year-old son Trey (Aubrey Joseph). But he isn’t on top of the music world like he once was. He’s on the verge of making a deal to buy back Stackin’ Hits, which David intends to continue the work he’s done for black culture.  

But the deal goes sideways when David’s son, Trey, is kidnapped, or so they think. Trey comes home safe, but his friend Kyle (Elijah Wright) is taken by mistake. Kyle is David’s godson, and his father, Paul (Jeffrey Wright), works for David and is treated like his brother. The kidnapper (ASAP Rocky, aka Rakim Mayers) knows this, but still wants David to pay a $17.5 million ransom for Kyle.

Now David must choose between making a financial deal that means so much to him or saving someone who isn’t his son with nearly every dollar his family has to their name.

The dialogue of Highest 2 Lowest is so good. Alan Fox is credited for writing the screenplay, even though Spike Lee re-wrote some aspects of it after Denzel Washington joined the cast. But conversations have a natural flow to them with genuine dialogue that feels grounded in reality.

The strong performances help with that, as well. Jeffrey Wright is superb as Paul, a concerned father who will stop at nothing to get his son back. Paul has a troubled past that he’s distanced himself from, but also allows him to have connections to things he probably shouldn’t. You sympathize with Paul more than anyone else in the film because he only has one motive, and it isn’t conflicted at all.

Denzel Washington is in top form, though. He claims to be retiring in the next few years as an actor, which is deserved since he’s 70 now. But he’s also delivered some of his best performances in the last few years. He was the best (and only good) part of Gladiator II. David King has a lot of layers to him as a character, though. He’s selfish and cold, but his family and those close to him, including his business partner Patrick (Michael Potts), remind him that life isn’t all business and money.

Washington’s performance is as complex as the character. You can tell that he knows what the right thing to do is, but he puts himself through turmoil getting to the point of being that decent person. There’s a sequence near the end of the film where Washington is flowing and throwing down bars like it’s nothing. As David King he claims he’s no musician or rapper, but he does more than a passing job here.

ASAP Rocky is not a great actor. He doesn’t necessarily have to be with his role in the film, but anything outside of acting like an entitled up-and-coming music artist with a chip on his shoulder is strained and less than satisfactory. He gets into a fist fight with Denzel Washington on the subway, where Washington seemingly carries him through the choreography (there are stunt doubles listed in the cast for ASAP Rocky, but not Washington). Rocky also does this annoying grunt repeatedly during this sequence that gets on your last nerve.

As a neo-noir crime thriller, Highest 2 Lowest is more interesting in the first half of the film. The story is far more intriguing when David King is mulling over whether or not he should pay the ransom since Kyle isn’t of blood relation to him. Once David decides to pay the ransom, Highest 2 Lowest has predictable storytelling. That decision seems to come out of nowhere, too. One minute, David is telling Detective Earl Bridges (John Douglas Thompson) to keep negotiating because he won’t even consider telling the kidnapper that he’d pay the ransom over the phone, and the very next scene, David is coming into the room with his family to tell Paul they’re bringing Kyle home.

The best part after that is the subway sequence, where David is bringing the ransom money to the kidnapper because it’s quite elaborate for a motorcycle handoff. It feels like the story goes through foreseeable interactions after that: David pays the ransom, they lose the money, Kyle is found, they try to find the money, and things work out in the end.

Spike Lee chooses to focus on music and black culture in Highest 2 Lowest, and it works for the most part. There are at least three full-length music videos in the film (the opening, David’s final interaction with the kidnapper, and the Aiyana-Lee/Sula performance at the end of the film). Music factoring into the actual story is a more intriguing aspect of the film. The characters in the film are driven by music more than anything, and it gets in the way at times. Music comes before logic at times, and it makes sense for character motivation.

The use of music is executed beautifully; the opening of the film featuring Norm Lewis’ “Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’” with what looks like drone footage of early morning traffic and the sun rising on what is the closest thing to slumber of the city that never sleeps features incredible cinematography. ASAP Rocky’s contributions to the soundtrack are solid, and the Highest 2 Lowest title track at the end of the film will give you goosebumps.

Highest 2 Lowest features an unprecedented performance from Denzel Washington, impressive cinematography, and fantastic music. However, the story is so shackled to safe and expected circumstances that it tethers the film to certain mediocrity.

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