'Highest 2 Lowest' review: Denzel Washington shines in Spike Lee's entertaining, but uneven thriller

WHAT IT’S ABOUT Denzel Washington plays David King, a Black record executive at the top of his industry. He owns a Dumbo penthouse worthy of Tony Stark but still can’t rest on his laurels. To retain control of his iconic label, Stackin’ Hits, he leverages a fortune to buy back his catalog. Then comes the shocking news that a plan to kidnap his son has gone wrong — and his chauffeur son has been taken instead. Now David faces a choice: Pay the ransom and sacrifice all he’s worked for, or let the chips fall where they may.

MY SAY Any new joint from Spike Lee, no matter how uneven, is cause for celebration, and "Highest 2 Lowest" is no different. Only Lee could take a 1963 Japanese police procedural, Akira Kurosawa’s "High and Low," and transform it into an exploration of Black American culture, art and economics. Despite a wobbly first-time screenplay from playwright Alan Fox, "Highest 2 Lowest" vibrates with ideas, crackles with energy and benefits from a charismatic, occasionally explosive Washington, here marking his fifth collaboration with Lee (following 2006’s "Inside Man").

The opening-credit montage establishes New York City as a player in this drama. Cinematographer Matthew Libatique ("A Star is Born") captures the wealth in the high-rise skyline, basks in the warmth of the "Welcome" sign and somehow makes the Brooklyn Bridge look sparkling new. These images tell us not just where King lives, but what he stands for. "Black culture and artistic integrity," he says, adding: "There’s more to life than just making money."

His principled words will be put to the test. As King waffles over paying the ransom, his chauffeur, a former convict named Paul (Jeffrey Wright, crucial as always), tries desperately to maintain his stoic pride instead of dissolving into an unseemly puddle. Meanwhile, King’s wife (Ilfenesh Hadera as Pam) and his own teenage son (Aubrey Joseph as Trey) begin to regard King's indecisiveness with horror. "The man with the best ears in the business," Trey marvels, "but the coldest heart."

"Highest 2 Lowest" makes more than a few missteps. For starters, it’s fuzzy on its own details: Has King gambled literally all he owns, or just his business? The ransom, $17.5 million in Swiss francs (inexplicably), would seem easily covered by auctioning the Basquiat and Wiley paintings on King’s walls. There’s also something incongruous about this record mogul’s disdain for TikTok-driven pop and his mission to sign nostalgic R&B acts (one played by British singer Aiyana-Lee). Wouldn’t a man with golden ears keep them a little more open?

When the movie works, though, it really works. There’s a rip-roaring motorcycle chase through a jubilant National Puerto Rican Day Parade in the South Bronx, intercut with a sizzling live performance from the late Latin jazz icon Eddie Palmieri (to whom the film is dedicated). There’s a searing performance from the rapper A$AP Rocky who — minor spoiler — plays the villain of this piece with steely conviction. And guess what? Washington can rap! When he and Rocky finally share the screen, their electricity is palpable.

Lee can be a frustrating filmmaker, capable of both clever touches (a subway chase that borrows from "The French Connection") and clumsiness (a heavy-handed score by Howard Drossin). "Highest 2 Lowest" may not rank as one of Lee’s best. But without him, the world of cinema would be a poorer place.

BOTTOM LINE An uneven but entertaining thriller from an always-fascinating filmmaker.

By Rafer Guzmán

rafer.guzman@newsday.com