REVIEW: ‘Highest 2 Lowest’ Has A Ton Of Fun Missing It’s Own Points

Spike Lee’s latest joint, Highest 2 Lowest, distributed by A24 and Apple TV+, is written by Evan Hunter and adapted from Akira Kurosawa’s High and Low (1963). It’s an unbalanced take on capitalism and family in the New York City music industry, with so much charm that you can’t help but enjoy it anyway.

David King (Denzel Washington) was once the pinnacle of the music world. Now, he’s trying to work out a deal to keep the record company he built from being consumed by a foreign conglomerate. That is, until his son, Trey (Aubrey Joseph), is kidnapped for a multi-million dollar ransom.

Highest 2 Lowest is Spike Lee’s most self-indulgent movie in a long time, possibly ever. And thank goodness for that, because it’s not only fun to watch, it’s the only reason why the movie doesn’t totally fall apart. Few other directors can get away with a man turning straight to the camera on the New York subway and just yelling about how the Yankees rule and the Red Socks are the worst without making you roll your eyes.

The haphazard editing and melodramatic score heighten the tension in Highest 2 Lowest.

The editing is deliberately all over the place. It bounces back and forth across rooms, behind characters as they speak, and rewinds half seconds to show double takes. It’s accompanied by an utterly melodramatic score that rises and falls on a dime and always feels completely exaggerated. Most of the time, though, it works because it keeps the energy flowing and the tension high.

Much of the indulgence is a benefit to Highest 2 Lowest, but some of it is irritating. It’s fun when he’s loving on New York City. It’s less fun when the movie’s trying to comment on capitalism and responsibility. The film has obvious points of view—that hard work and respect are rewarded, that family is all that matters, and that times have changed in the entertainment industry and people need to keep up to stay afloat.

Whether you agree with these tenets or not may likely impact your enjoyment of the movie, but regardless, the movie is also at total odds with its own politics. Washington absolutely oozes with charm as King. But Highest 2 Lowest’s third twist puts David in a terrible situation where he does not rise to the occasion.

David King might be irredeemable, but that doesn’t stop him from being incredibly charming and fun to watch.

The way David treats his closest associate, Christopher (Jeffrey Wright), is downright unacceptable. He prioritizes capital over humanity. No matter how hard Highest 2 Lowest tries, David is irredeemable from here on. He’s still charming. He makes choices that you can have a lot of fun watching play out. But his entire moral character is soiled by his lack of conviction and disloyalty to his friend.

Highest 2 Lowest seems to know this and supports this on some level. There is ample explicit commentary on the difference between how the public and authorities treat people with different class status. Yet, David faces no consequences for his poor character and ultimately gets everything he wants. The movie implies that David deserves the respect he demands just for existing, even though it’s clear that nobody respects Christopher the same way.

It’s frustrating that Highest 2 Lowest seems to unwittingly play into its own commentary on social status. It doesn’t take long for Christopher to forgive David and for the whole movie to move on as if he never committed this transgression. They barely even have to reconcile. But even after Christopher forgives David and moves on, the sour taste of what preceded lingers on.

Spike Lee’s politics aren’t totally coherent, but it’s fun watching the movie try.

It’s also somewhat ironic that somebody who has been in the entertainment world as long as Spike Lee is the one making a movie about how the only way to survive in the entertainment world is by adapting to the times. Creatively, Spike Lee has never been anything but himself. Highest 2 Lowest is a perfect example of how he will always embed his personal interests and filmmaking quirks wherever he can.

And yet, a lot of the movie’s commentary on the state of social media and how word gets around, which drives much of the plot and David’s decision-making, also feels either outdated by half a decade or just how people of Spike Lee’s age assume the internet works. It’s like Highest 2 Lowest wants you to believe that there’s a beautiful future for people to make it in the entertainment world if they just work hard enough, and if people at the top just stop following the bad money and grow hearts again.

Yet, there’s a total charm to the naivety. It’s pulse-pounding and thoroughly enjoyable to watch, thanks to an excellent cast and a dynamic depiction of New York City. Even if Highest 2 Lowest doesn’t quite land its political jabs with full weight, it’s impossible not to keep thinking about the crisis of art versus profit when it’s over. You’ll wish that hard work and respect could magically solve everything like the movie thinks it can. And my god, it’s exciting to watch this movie try to convince you of it.

The cast is all around phenomenal.

The boisterous love for New York, the incredible soundtrack, the absolute charm of every character, and the high-octane final two acts all make for a thrilling watch. There are swipe transitions that come out of nowhere just because they can. Yung Felon’s (A$AP Rocky) eye tattoo moves and changes shapes every time you see it close up. An entire setpiece is built around the Puerto Rican Day Parade, where, for nearly ten minutes, it seems like it’s just thrown in for fun as a backdrop to the ongoing action sequence. It doesn’t matter if half of the movie is corny; the other half is great. 

There’s a whole intentionally ridiculous music video in the middle of the movie, and the aforementioned chaotic editing indicates that clearly, on some level, the movie is at least equally as interested in just having a good time as it is trying to make a point. The action sequences are thrilling, and the moments when Denzel Washington really gets to go to work are among some of his best recent scenes.

Spike Lee is at his Spike Lee-iest in Highest 2 Lowest. The politics are at total odds with the narrative, yet it’s having so much fun with itself that it can largely be forgiven for it. However you interpret the movie’s meaning, it’s going to be a good time.

Highest 2 Lowest is playing now in select theaters and will stream on Apple TV+ September 5th.