Highest 2 Lowest Has Its Highs and Lows

There are a few moments in my life when I have felt a seismic shift from my seat in a dark movie theatre. Moments when I watched a film and not only understood, but felt, what people mean when they talk about "the magic of the movies." The first time I saw High and Low was one of those times.

Highest 2 Lowest2025

High and Low1963

I fell in love with Akira Kurosawa's complete control of the camera, the moral dilemma that the film centered on, the explosive performances, the taught and anxiety-inducing narrative. I was riveted for every single frame, which is doubly impressive for a film whose first half takes place entirely inside an apartment.

I loved the movie so much, in fact, that it was the inspiration for the first piece of film criticism I ever published, the beginning of an amateur film column I wrote in my university's magazine. I was deep into my film studies program at the time, and, like many well-meaning but slightly insufferable film bros before me, I dove into High and Low in excrutiating detail. I talked ad nauseum about the technical aspects of the film, its legacy, and its history. I spent literal paragraphs on the blocking. I'm sure it was an engrossing read.

All this to say, when I heard about Highest 2 Lowest, Spike Lee's upcoming remake of my beloved classic, I had strong feelings on the matter. Not good. Not bad. Just strong.

I was torn. Why would anyone even bother trying to adapt a movie that is already virtually flawless? In many ways, High and Low is the blueprint for the mystery crime drama. Its fingerprints are all over the genre. Its handling of class commentary was obviously a major influence for Parasite, and its impersonal cinematography and "anticlimactic" hopeless ending echoes through other crime classics, from Chinatown to Zodiac.

But this is Spike Lee we're talking about. Not only does he have one of the most unique voices of any filmmaker working today, when you listen to him speak about film, you can feel the reverence and respect for the art that he has. He was a film student himself once, too.

He ended up making movies like Do the Right Thing, while I wrote for a university paper, but we're not here to talk about me.

Part of me wanted to dismiss the new movie outright, but I couldn't stop thinking about it. I was convinced that Lee wouldn't be making this movie if he didn't have something to say. Something different that he wanted to achieve with his version of the story. So when I finally went to the theatre, I was equal parts scared and excited.

So, is Highest 2 Lowest a good movie? It's not as simple as that. But one thing's for sure, it's nothing like the original.

The movie takes some big-ass swings. Some of them really worked for me, and some of them really didn't. Instead of the tight, quiet, bottle narrative that dominates the first half of High and Low, Highest 2 Lowest is loud, bombastic, and pretty all over the place. The first impression came across more like an episode of Dynasty than a crime thriller.

The camera swooped and the piano score swelled, swallowing up most of the opening dialogue between Denzel's David King and his family. Their opulent penthouse provides the backdrop for this movies' version of events. King is a record exec who is fading from the limelight. He is on the verge of liquidating all of his assets to prevent a merger, so that he can maintain creative control of his label. That is, of course, until he gets a call informing him that his son has been kidnapped. And the ransom has been set at $17 million.

I'm glad that this movie takes a different approach. Aside from the bare bones plot and the focus on class differences, it has almost nothing in common with the original. It focuses on new themes like profit versus fulfillment. It's rooted in Black American culture rather than Japanese hierarchical culture. Stylistically, it really couldn't be more different from High and Low. Instead of a camera and edit that do everything they can to go unnoticed, this movie basically yells at you to look. Even though I didn't care for the messy editing and I found the musical choices baffling for the most part, I'd much rather have this version of a remake than a tired, faded, retread. I'm looking at you Oldboy. And you, Psycho.

Comparing Highest 2 Lowest to High and Low feels almost unfair, like putting a Pollock up next to a Caravaggio. One is meticulous, groundbreaking, impossible to look away from. The other is bright, chaotic, and entirely new. Highest 2 Lowest is a splash on the canvas, one that I'm sure a lot of people will like. For me though, it fell short. I never felt the stakes, I didn't feel the societal tension brewing beneath the surface, and any new ground the movie did tackle—like Jeffrey Wright's ex-convict chauffeur interacting with the institution of policing—felt half-baked at best, and totally wasted at worst. There's a lot of new stuff here, and even though it's not all bad, it's very disjointed.

One thing I did love was the movie's sense of place. This is a New York movie. Capital N, capital Y. The chase sequences through the city were totally electric, and the one time the music didn't feel out of place. Even if the way the scenes played out did read a little Looney Tunes at times. Only Spike Lee could make a movie inside the New York subway or shut down the Brooklyn Bridge. I'd love to know what favours he had to call in to get that done. You can tell that everyone in this movie loves the city, and it lends a lot more flavour to the movie overall than Yokohama does to the original.

Also, A$AP Rocky was fantastic. Everyone is lauding Denzel's performance, but honestly, for me, it was one of his weaker ones. Whenever A$AP was onscreen though, I was dialled in. There's a sequence in a recording studio that I won't spoil, but it's one of my favourites of the year.

That's what I mean about this movie being hard to pin down. Even though I think it lacks the sense of urgency, the push and pull between the elites and the underbelly of the city that is so important to the original story, when something does hit, it hits. Hidden amongst a confused mish-mash of ideas, there are some real gems, like the sequence with Princess Nokia, or the commentary on parasocial relationships and the cost of fame. Both are new additions to the story that I really enjoy, and add new, modern texture to this take on the story.

I've been trying to make sense of my feelings for a week, and I'm still not any closer to finding a resolution. True to its title, Highest 2 Lowest has some of the highest highs of the year, and some of the lowest lows. It's a rollercoaster ride, but probably not in the way that the filmmaker intended. While it's certainly not going to make my top ten of the year, it's still a movie that I think people, especially fans of the original movie, should watch.

Because this is the kind of remake that I want. One that takes risks and isn't afraid to try new things. One that takes inspiration from the greats and decides to do something totally unique with that inspiration. The only thing worse than a bad movie is a boring movie, and love it or hate it, Highest 2 Lowest is the exact opposite of boring.