It takes extreme confidence to remake a film from one of the greatest directors of all time. But few people have has much earned confidence as Spike Lee and Denzel Washington. Together, they've collaborated on some of the most entertaining (Inside Man) and powerful (Malcolm X) movies ever made. Their fifth pairing certainly has its flaws. But when they're both cooking, the highs are as high as anything this year.
Highest 2 Lowest, which updates Akira Kurosawa's High to Low, makes the most of its New York City setting. At a time when studios are looking to shoot anywhere cheap, Lee lets you know this is really the Big Apple. The movie begins with the sun rising over Brooklyn, set to "Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'" from Oklahoma! It's both sincere and ironic. The beauty is undeniable, but Denzel's record mogul David King is in for the worst day of his life.
After taking a big financial gamble at work, he gets a devastating phone call: a kidnapper has taken his son Trey (Aubrey Joseph) and demands $17.5 million for his release. After the NYPD brings Trey home, it's revealed the man actually snatched Kyle (Elijah Christopher), the son of David's best friend Paul (Jeffrey Wright). Still, he demands the exorbitant ransom.
And this is where the movie takes off. David weighs his impossible options, all of which will be scrutinized by the public. He questions what his legacy will mean if he's broke or cruel. Or as Trey puts it: "The man with the best ears in the business, and the coldest heart." Exploring these moral quandaries, and then following it up with an absolutely electrifying chase scene, is why Spike is still the man.
Denzel is, too. At age 70 he has resolutely refused to phone it in. Even if his taste remains questionable (three Equalizer movies, The Little Things), he is transfixing in all of them, even in disappointments like Gladiator II and Roman J. Israel, Esq. This surpasses all of those, as he delivers his best performance since Fences, even echoing that film's most famous scene opposite Joseph.
His equal in every scene they share is Wright. Paul has served as David's right-hand man ever since getting out of prison. He explodes with righteous anger at an overzealous police force and his friend's surprising callousness, even as he tries to walk a path of peace. Wright even gets the film's two funniest lines, as Paul and David head to their old neighborhood to take matters into their own hands.
Highest 2 Lowest may not be a masterpiece like its forerunner. It has some frankly bizarre editing in its opening 20 minutes, and Lee still can't decide how to end his films. But in between that is some absolutely dynamite filmmaking. Even if Apple is barely giving this a theatrical release, it's a great summer movie, a great New York movie, and a great showcase for two legends.



