Among the most memorable scenes in Akira Kurosawa’s timeless crime drama High and Low (1963) is one where the kidnapper asks for his ransom money to be thrown from a train. Based on the layout of Japan, the location is isolated enough that this can happen with nary a witness. As a piece of cinema, it’s a poetic moment that highlights the dangers lurking just out of sight. Even upon return, the detectives are unsure how to track this man down. There is hopelessness in the empty spaces as one man’s quest for vengeance leads him to desperate corners.
From the outset, Spike Lee doesn’t sound like the right man to adapt High and Low for an American sensibility. Having already been panned for his Oldboy (2013) interpretation, he’s not the most trustworthy name when it comes to imports. Even the fact that New York, compared to Mid-20th century Japan, is overcrowded and over-surveilled, poses a lot of questions as to how a familiar ransom could hold the same levels of tension. In short, how does Lee throw the bag from the subway train with the same dramatic impact, knowing how many variables are interfering?
The result ends up being one of the best pieces of filmmaking in 2025. Protagonist David King (Denzel Washington) is asked to make a trade-off with his chauffeur’s son’s kidnapper, Yung Felon (A$AP Rocky). Through a series of phone conversations, the audience is led to believe that David is getting closer to his target. The stops have been policed, and there’s foreseeably no way for Yung Felon to escape. As David navigates a train full of New York Yankees fans chanting “Boston sucks!” he finds himself in a compromising position. He must throw it down onto a New York street populated with a celebratory crowd.
Everything that follows features some of Lee’s most kinetic energy to date. Despite being criticized for his impulsive decisions, Highest 2 Lowest features a musicality that works by contrasting ideas together in a way not dissimilar from the jazz portraits that line David’s high-rise home. It feels improvisational and fresh, where the viewer is not totally sure where everything is going. In fact, the initial introduction of the festival is abrupt, playing discordantly against the subway chants as David attempts to stay focused, hearing the one voice that matters over the overwhelming noise.
And then, as the chants die down and David stands over the festival, everything falls into place. Yung Felon’s location is a trap within itself, where he knows that the police are least likely to capture him. As the bag falls to the ground, a masked motorcyclist grabs the bag and starts a cat-and-mouse chase that involves several trade-offs across the city. Throughout this entire time, David is being pushed forward by the baseball fans as the music blares. It’s electric as the cross-cutting confuses the audience. Still, it’s the most trust that Lee has placed in his audience in a long time. He asks them to pay attention for the sake of greater justice. If they can capture Yung Felon, then future problems will disapppear.
Spoiler alert: he gets away. There’s still a significant portion of plot to go, and one that never loses sight of the characters’ humanity. David is a record executive who is at risk of losing his business. He is conflicted about paying the ransom because he needs to pay off debtors. As some who had a few hits decades prior, David lives with the belief that he is still “The King” and that he will bounce back. Among his rolodex of quotes is the value of risk-taking that he wears with a confident smile to everyone but himself. In his office, donned with iconography of both his achievements and idols like James Brown, he ponders what his future could possibly be. Coming from someone of Washington’s stature, the character’s depth is rich with subtext of an aging Hollywood icon losing his touch. Does the public want to hear from Washington anymore, and, more importantly, what does every public decision do to his larger reputation? Lee’s concern over David’s reputation tanking if he handles the kidnap ransom wrong is a very serious manner, and one that speaks to how money and risks can be more life and death than affording an incredible vantage point. There are even conspiracy hit pieces that emerge meant to besmirch his family name, revealing how claustrophobic the terminally online era can influence the emotionality of private thought.
Among the echelons of modern filmmaking, Highest 2 Lowest is also the most New York film on record. This is evident from the opening, where Norm Lewis sings “Oh, What A Beautiful Mornin’!” (from Oklahoma!) as Lee pans across the skyline, showing off the dazzling architecture of his home state. It works as an exhibition on top of creating the overwhelming sense of how small David is. The camera is almost looking for him as Lewis sings about affluence. There is a peace in this subversive song choice, itself alluding to the meadows where the dangers of High and Low hid. As the camera finally zooms in on David, it’s one that emphasizes how hidden he is. The only way to reach him is by phone.
New York has rarely felt as populated as it does here. Lee’s obsession becomes clear with how much he highlights the various street corners, even at one point creating a montage of subway stop names. There is a beauty to how the urban sprawl is presented. The diversity is only topped by a love for creativity and exploration, where innovation is around every corner, and David exists as one of the stereotypical American dreamers. He puts on his gold-studded Beats By Dre headphones and crosses the bridge, believing that he’s found the next big artist. He believes so much in self-expression that it drives his outlook on life. To him, “Not all money is good money.” There is a need to support family values, and that comes with artists who are willing to work hard and honestly for their bread.
This is what makes Yung Felon a fascinating contrast. As David navigates artists singing their souls out for a potential contract, Yung Felon is a musician whose only way in is to steal his attention. Without delving too far into the plot, he’s treating the crime like a chance to boost his image. The only way to look hard is to paint himself as an antagonist. It’s the only way he can earn any money as well, which in itself comments on the disparate nature of wealth in New York and the desperation that different classes have to have small pockets of comfort. Odds are, if Yung Felon had never bothered, he would still be in the hole, growing frustrated as nobody wants to buy his tunes.
The modernization of High and Low is brilliant because it takes the core idea and inflates an original personality around it. Lee isn’t interested in paying too much homage to the material. Outside of reworking essential scenes, he’s keen on taking risks that make the story sensible to an east coast braggart. There’s even a comedic music video scene where Rocky and Washington act out a cliché rap performance while big booty dancers dance in the background. This is a story about how wealth corrupts morality as well as how it impacts the response systems. There are discussions of Ebony alerts and how burner phones don’t have trackers. For a world that has been updated to an insane degree, Highest 2 Lowest reflects the small ways that the public is still vulnerable. Even in a high-rise, David is prone to attack. He can’t stay in his castle forever. At some point, he must squabble among the locals.
Credit must be given to Washington’s ability to play a wounded man with strong conviction. The audience runs the gamut of emotions throughout the entire film. At times, he’s the coolest man in the room, able to mesmerize with poetic line readings of arrogance. The way he handles banal conversations shows the magnetism he’s carried for decades now, especially when in the hands of Lee and his casual ball-busting. As the story progresses, there are moments where he appears more his age, out of touch with the larger world. Sometimes this makes the viewer hate him or sympathize with his limitations in solving the case. However, Lee ultimately treats this as hero worship, where even if he seems out of place opposite A$AP Rocky, he’s still in control. This is HIS New York, and nobody is going to take it from him.
Additional credit must be given to Jeffrey Wright as Paul Christopher, who serve as his chauffeur and essential wingman. While at times serving as the voice of wisdom, his best scenes involve him navigating the thorny situation with his own desperation. He has more to lose than David and thus is more willing to take those risks. Lee gives him some of the funniest jabs in the film and, in the process, keeps the mood as erratic as the plot. Set to a cool mix of Howard Drossin’s overdramatic score and sweet R&B throwbacks, they drive through the streets looking for their target. Again, this may be the coolest that New York has looked in years. If taken as a tone piece, Highest 2 Lowest does wonders for the tourism board. It’s a world that not only offers opportunities for David, but for everyone who has passion. The community nature and turnstile of cameos throughout reflect this perfectly, where everyone gets a few minutes to shine. It may go on for what feels like too long, but Lee’s a master of his craft, capable of letting the viewer become hypnotized by the magic of this environment.
Highest 2 Lowest is one of the best American adaptations in recent memory. While it’s foolish to think that anyone could do Kurosawa justice, Lee’s willingness to shoot for the stars in a film featuring Ice Spice and Princess Nokia shows why art should be for the ambitious. It is doubtful that this will be nearly as timeless, but it still works as a study of impulsivity and extemporaneous connections creating something greater. Lee’s compassion for his city goes a long way for everything else, where even the seedy hallways have this cinematic radiance. It’s a study of where America is at in the modern age, where industries (and creatives) are crumbling under new systems. There is this existential question of how one holds onto legacy and family when everything is distracting and tearing apart. It’s the type of rumor mill mentality that Lee knows well and treats as seriously as the central kidnapping. Not only that, but it’s a thrilling cat and mouse hunt sprinkled with humor and some of the best music cues of the year. Lee may have films with more direct urgency in recent years, but this is the perfect amalgamation. This is what he does. He follows his muse to some odd corners, and sometimes it’s the most glorious sight in the world. If anything, this is what everyone should do.
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