Film Review - Best 2 Worst (2025)

      Highest 2 Lowest, 2025.

      Directed by Spike Lee.

      Featuring Denzel Washington, Jeffrey Wright, Ilfenesh Hadera, Aubrey Joseph, Elijah Wright, Rick Fox, Rod Strickland, Nuri Hazzard, Jensen McRae, Jade Cayne, Imana Breaux, Andy McQueen, Ice Spice, Sunni Valentine, Frederick Weller, Michael Potts, Samm Davis, Allison Worrell, Dean Winters, LaChanze, John Douglas Thompson, Wendell Pierce, Eoin O’Shea, Gregory Dann, Don Lemon, A$AP Rocky, Nick Turturro, Rosie Perez, Anthony Ramos, and Eddie Palmieri.

      SYNOPSIS:

      When a prominent music mogul becomes the target of a ransom scheme, he finds himself in a life-or-death ethical quandary.

      There are lifeless shot-for-shot reproductions, and then there are creative remakes. Spike Lee’s Highest 2 Lowest – drawing inspiration from Akira Kurosawa’s High and Low, which was adapted from Ed McBain’s novel King’s Ransom – stands as an exhilarating example of the latter, enhancing the original. By shifting the focus from shoes to music, Spike Lee (collaborating with screenwriter Alan Fox) seems to recognize that a remake should carry an artist's signature, possibly learning from his Oldboy remake, which is better left forgotten. When there’s a spark and a passionate purpose behind it, there’s a strong likelihood that something significant will arise. It's also apt since, even in the music realm, audiences prefer not to hear a cover that lacks originality.

      Highest 2 Lowest teems with Spike Lee’s passions, spanning from Black culture to New York sports (often celebrating the architecture and diverse society of the area, brought to life with dynamic energy by cinematographer Matthew Libatique) to music, which could symbolize the ever-evolving (some might argue deteriorating) filmmaking industry. The film is so infused with Spike Lee’s essence that a key ransom drop-off/heist scene takes place at Yankee Stadium, featuring a train packed with annoyed New York Yankees fans who humorously presume that Boston Red Sox supporters are behind the turmoil.

      It's crucial to highlight that while channeling his interests into this interpretation of a classic film, Spike Lee remains attuned to the moral and class conflicts at the story's core. Denzel Washington’s David King (a name consistent with the original and potentially coincidental, yet resonates morphologically when considering Martin Luther King Jr. as an advocate for Black futures) is a Grammy-winning artist turned successful hip-hop label executive, contemplating a buyout against the odds and deciding to purchase full ownership, as he values the music and supports the careers of emerging Black artists.

      This is a significant burden for David, who is understandably anxious about taking this plunge in an entertainment landscape where circumstances beyond his control may lead him astray; generative AI receives a verbal reprimand here, delivered from Denzel Washington's impassioned performance that has the power to dismantle anyone or anything with an ideal blend of elegance, energy, and attitude.

      Living in immense wealth and comfort (it would be a disservice not to acknowledge production designer Mark Friedberg's nomination for his meticulous design of the King residence, adorned with Black pop culture and sports memorabilia, including figures like Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Muhammad Ali, Kamala Harris, a replica Jackie Robinson jersey, and a vintage baseball scoreboard showing three innings of a Brooklyn Dodgers versus New York Yankees game), David’s devoted and supportive (yet not voiceless) wife Pam (Ilfenesh Hadera) is poised to make a generous donation for a Black cultural cause, momentarily setting aside her ambitions to allow her husband to proceed with a $17.5 million power play for control of his label.

      David's son, Trey (Aubrey Joseph), has an eye for talent that could benefit his father if he ever chose to listen. Trey admires the beautiful singer Sula Janie Zimmie (Aiyana-Lee), genuinely believing in her potential. It’s not that David is inherently stubborn (though he can be at times), but he needs to reassure himself and those around him that he still possesses the instinct for discovering aspiring musicians who have that special quality. Much like the film itself, his challenges are complex and, in many ways, reflect Spike Lee using the character as a proxy for his own experiences in the current filmmaking environment.

      Following this interpretation, the conclusion (and indeed the entire film) serves as vibrant proof that he can still compete with the finest, while also encouraging, possibly even challenging, the upcoming generation of Black filmmakers to claim the throne from him if they dare. Considering this film cleverly includes a strategic reference to “A24,” that metaphor could also broaden to address the realms of independent versus mainstream entertainment.

      There were some concerns that as the film delved deeper into the abduction storyline involving David’s son –