Critic's Notebook

A24

This is Spike Lee’s second stab at remaking an Asian masterpiece. The first, 2013’s “Oldboy,” based on Park Chan-wook’s 2003 Cannes Grand Prix winner, was faithful down to replicating the iconic single-shot corridor fight scene. But it wasn’t well received at all. The result wasn’t as dark or as sickly funny as the original. Perhaps Josh Brolin should have chowed down on a live octopus for good measure.

Mr. Lee has now set his sights even higher, this time tackling Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 “High and Low,” which was itself based on Evan Hunter’s American novel “King’s Ransom” and which already spawned a Bollywood remake in 1977. Even Martin Scorsese has attempted to get an adaptation scripted by David Mamet off the ground twice in the past three decades. On paper this should be foolproof, yet somehow Mr. Lee manages to fumble again.

The word that best describes “Highest 2 Lowest” is: unserious. Think of those Eddie Murphy cop movies. Now that’s certainly an interesting way to approach a thriller, to say the least. But instead of Mr. Murphy, we have Denzel Washington as David King, the mogul behind Stackin’ Hits Records. Mr. Lee has had some misses, but he’s never missed with Mr. Washington in the lead. So what happened?

David’s assistant, Paul (Jeffrey Wright), is a reformed ex-con. Their respective sons, Trey (Aubrey Joseph) and Kyle (Elijah Wright, Jeffrey’s offspring I.R.L.), are besties who play hoops together and are coached by none other than Rick Fox. Suffice it to say, Trey’s got drip. And unsurprisingly, the boys vanish and David receives a call demanding ransom money. The mogul’s got the money, but it’s earmarked for a critical business deal that may now fall through – definitely a rich people problem. In the current political climate, we are being asked to empathize with the 1 percent? Seriously?

There’s really no sense of urgency. Paul should be a suspect, but Mr. Lee doesn’t seem to have the heart to depict a Black man unflatteringly, and the film suffers from this loss of suspense. Instead, we have Dean Winters, playing Detective Higgins, cracking Allstate jokes. There’s A$AP Rocky as aspiring rapper Yung Felon, who lives in apartment A24, just so you know. If you’ve ever wondered how Mr. Washington would fare in a rap battle, you are about to find out.

The highlight of the film is the handover of the ransom money taking place during The Bronx Puerto Rican Day Parade, with Rosie Perez, Anthony Ramos and the entire Eddie Palmieri Salsa Orchestra making cameo appearances. It’s a thriller. It’s a celebration! Filmmaking wise, the scene is tightly staged and executed. Tonally, it’s the only part that induces tension of any sort.

It’s evident that “Highest 2 Lowest” is more concerned with fan service than basic storytelling. The sight gags are funny if you are an A24 stan, but they detract from the narrative rather than add to it. Jeffrey Wright deserves better. This film is so forgettable that I am not sure if Apple TV+ even got an AirTag product placement from the whole exercise.