Spike Lee has always been both a champion and a practitioner of independent art. Always following the beat of his own drum, he found innovative early success in films like She’s Gotta Have It and Do The Right Thing. Lee’s films proceeded to score Oscar nominations for masterful outings, including Malcolm X and BlacKkKlansman, and though he’s had occasional tension with the Academy, he’s always clearly demonstrated a style of his own. In his latest film, Highest 2 Lowest, Lee riffs on the work of another legendary filmmaking iconoclast, Akira Kurosawa. Inspired by the latter’s police procedural High and Low, Lee’s exciting reinterpretation is another stellar showcase for Denzel Washington and Jeffrey Wright, alongside a thrilling defense of the value of art in a world choking on commerce.
The film centers on aging record mogul David King (Denzel Washington), the best ear in the business whose fortunes have been in decline. The music business is tough in our era, and King’s once trendsetting label is a stone’s throw from being purchased by an AI tech company. His true wealth is in his family: son Trey (Aubrey Joseph) and wife Pam (Ilfenesh Hadera), and the honorary family of his longtime driver, friend, and confidant Paul (Jeffrey Wright). Everything changes when he receives news that his son was kidnapped over a hefty $17.5 million ransom demand. A short time later, it’s discovered that the kidnapper accidentally took Paul’s son Kyle (Elijah Wright), and still demands the eye-popping price, leaving David with a tough set of choices and a desire to take control of the situation.
Highest 2 Lowest Is Anchored By Top-Shelf Performances and a Killer Script
Highest 2 Lowest is another fine showcase of Spike and Denzel’s collaborations, bolstered by loads of style and a top-shelf script from Alan Fox. Fox’s screenplay is regularly witty, layered, and poetic, giving ample scenery for the film’s talented dramatists to chew. David King loves to give speeches and is beyond capable of witticisms and rhymes, and Denzel delivers everything with charm and Shakespearean aplomb. It’s a fantastic performance from Denzel, but at its best in a key moment where Denzel leaves the sanctity of his home with the ransom in tow. He’s allowed the full gamut of emotions, and it’s another reminder of how regularly exceptional he is.

Jeffrey Wright is also both a dramatic and a comedic powerhouse here, with Paul receiving some of the film’s most amusing one-liners. In a key moment, it’s revealed that ex-con Paul is packing heat (much to David King’s surprise), but he swears the gun is for protection, naming it “Jake from State Farm.” A relatively short time later, he produces a second pistol, which he calls “Mayhem,” a not-so-subtle reference to Allstate’s personification of chaos played by Dean Winters… who gets relevant screen time here as a Detective. It’s a stellar script, and lines like this flow like liquid gold from the excellent deliveries of Denzel and Wright (though it would be stellar if they had more time interacting together).
Structural Issues Aside, ‘Highest 2 Lowest’ Excels
As we discover who was responsible for the kidnapping and why, it allows Lee and Fox to cement thematic interrogations of the value of art in a commerce-driven, increasingly Influencer-hyped industry. David King represents the old guard who has since lost his joie de vivre, spending too long in the game, and rediscovers his priorities in the course of crisis. Coming from Lee, in an era where Silicon Valley is decimating entertainment and influencer culture has done similar damage to entertainment journalism, there’s an earnest and intelligent dialogue here that works.

Between Lee’s flourishes and Matty Libatique’s gorgeous camerawork, the film is an extraordinarily stylish outing that’s physically lovely to watch. There are some structural issues, however, that plague the film’s final act. Following David’s fateful encounter with the kidnapper (a sequence that works well), the film continues through a parade of moments wrapping what happens to David, what happens to their foe, and so on. There are several moments that each feel like plausible endings, though the film keeps chugging away. There’s another meeting between David and the kidnapper that fits thematically but runs long. There’s a music video that’s fun to watch, but an exercise of style over substance. These elements create a final act that runs long and chaotically, the tight structure of the preceding narrative falling away. What happens works well enough that the movie’s still great, but there’s room for a better route forward.
Altogether, Highest 2 Lowest is another visionary turn from Spike Lee, with a lot to say amidst excellent performances from Denzel and Jeffrey Wright. The script is charming and intelligent (there’s a ‘cyclops’ joke at the end after Wright’s Paul injures his eye, almost certainly a reference to folklore’s Most Famous Cyclops, Polyphemus… get it, PAUL-yphemus?), and it all works in large part due to the calibre of who delivers the lines. It feels less focused at the end, runs a little long, and introduces some elements that don’t really work in the world as developed. It’s still an exceptional example of Spike Lee’s talents, and an important reminder that the art ‘industry’ needs to return to being about the art, again, a lesson we’ve rarely needed more.
Highest 2 Lowest will be released in theaters by A24 on August 15, then will premiere on September 5 on Apple TV+.