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Denzell Washington is a very successful music producer with, as he calls it, "The best ears in the business". He sold off a piece of his corporation a few years back and lives an opulent lifestyle. But the changed economics of the music business, a company sniffing around to buy the company from under him, and a desire to be more of a producer than a businessman have worn on him. He arranges for a loan to buy a block of shares that will give him control. And then his son is kidnapped.

Many of you will recognize this as a remake of Kurosawa's Tengoku to jigoku aka High and Low. As a result, the first big plot twist did not surprise me. What did surprise me was Spike Lee's expansion, not only of the divide between the highest and lowest wealth in the movie -- although that was by making Washington so very rich -- as the expansion of the ending. Several of Kurosawa's movies seem to end abruptly to me, pointlessly so: an ending that shocks rather than concludes. That is, undoubtedly, a cultural difference. But Lee comes down on my side, and with equally stern cultural self-criticism. In doing so, he demonstrates this is a sturdy story, both in terms of its thriller/kidnapping plot and in terms of how societies view art, money, and privilege.

I loved seeing Spike Lee and Denzel Washington teaming up again for a new film. From start to finish, though, the movie felt scattered-jumping around with no clear plot or objective. As expected, Denzel did his thing and really carried it. A$AP Rocky wasn't bad, and Ilfenesh Hadera held her own, but overall the film was just... okay. At times, it definitely gave off Godfather of Harlem vibes, and it was New York through and through from beginning to end.

Movie Grade:C-/C.

If you're a big fan of spike lee, you'll probably love it. Maybe again you'll probably be disappointed. In my opinion, wasn't bad but it could've been great. It felt kinda dragged, overall you got Denzel, asap rocky did solid.

You can see asap was very into his lines, the scenes between him and Denzel were good.

Catch it at home and have a sit back on the couch with some popcorn and pizza and enjoy. It's in select theaters, feel free to try to catch it otherwise it'll be available to stream in 2 weeks.

Spike Lee has always been the perfect definition of a hit or miss as he has made some great movies like Do the Right Thing, Malcolm X, She's Gotta Have It, Jungle Fever, and so on. At the same time, he has made some pretty awful movies, particular Oldboy (2013) and Miracle at St. Anna. With his latest film, based on a reinterpretation of Akira Kurosawa's classic "High and Low", it falls quite flat and rough.

For starters, there are some nice camerawork that helps presents the atmosphere and environment. Creating the vibe and energy of the city of New York. Lee does offer some fresh themes and concepts about it's characters, writing, and the political aspects, however it all feels confused, misplaced, and messy. The writing feels as if this new reinterpretation didn't offer anything special or interesting to the original and book, as if Lee confuses with what he wants to present and display. Alongside with some laughable bad dialogue, the performances are a mix bag. Denzel Washington does provide his best as his energy and personality is good. However some of the other performances are honestly pretty bad, particularly Ilfenesh Hadera. Almost as if the performances are TV levels of acting or being intentionally awful.

The production designs and structure feels cheap and dated, almost as if the movie is having a Hallmark and Lifetime approach. The musical score is one of the worst aspects about this movie as it's presentation, sounding, and how the music is used is all over the place, messy, and atrocious. Regarding pacing, it drags, as the pacing remains uneven and it's first and second act really struggles. However, around it's third act, it does pick up with some interesting and good thrilling moments.

I'm honestly kind of surprised with the positive reviews because audiences and critics have been raving this reinterpretation, however I found it to be tedious and frustrating. I do appreciate it isn't as disgraceful as Lee's remake of "Oldboy" (which I'm glad to hear he has since disowned the movie). However, no matter what, it's pretty clear that it's best to stay away from remaking classics because it ain't worth it.

Spike Lee has one of his best films ever in Highest 2 Lowest, a traditional police procedural but intellectually elevated by being based on a masterful 1963 Akira Kurasawa ransom film, High and Low, with the same trajectory to classic as the adaptation of Kurosawa's The Seven Samurai into The Magnificent Seven. Highest 2 Lowest is one of the best movies of the year and one of the top crime movies of all time.

Music mogul David Kin (Denzel Washington) is threatened to be personally and professionally dethroned by the kidnapping of his son, Trey (Aubrey Joseph), by criminals unknown until later. It is revelatory to see the police navigate kidnapping with the social-media challenges that attack the high-profile dad for the way he deals with the demands of the crooks, the public, and morality.

Lee has a field day playing the racial tensions between the races, including this time Puerto Rico and Cuba and who knows how many others in the biggest melting pot ion the world. Lee makes the conflicts lyrical with music that inspires community and love.

The love letter to New York by cinematographer Matthew Libatique is beautiful as well as complementary to the complex plot and the NY vision usually accompanying a Lee movie. The beautiful landscape belies the ugly proceedings as King is morally challenged by a twist in which he becomes responsible for the ransom of a child not his own. It's a personally and publicly Hobson's choice that Denzel handles with Oscar-nominating dexterity.

Oscar-worthy is his face off with the kidnapper. The rapping motif is jaw-droppingly expert and electrifying. Denzel carries it off with the cool mastering that makes him one of the top actors of his generation.

In a logical comparison with Michael Douglas's Gordon Gekko of Wall Street, Denzel's King is less impressive if only for the wide range Douglas's script gives, yet the studio rapper scene in Higher is a tour de force for Denzel. Look for this outstanding drama on Apple TV+. Just don't miss Highest 2 Lowest.