Spike Lee’s latest film,Highest 2 Lowest, is currently in theaters for a limited run before it hits the Apple TV+ streaming service, giving fans of the director the chance to experience the movie on the big screen.The film is a remake of Akira Kurosawa’s1963 filmHigh and Low, which tells the story of an executive at a shoe company struggling to gain control of the company amidst a hostage situation gone wrong. Lee remakes the film with his own modern sensibilities, changing the backdrop to New York and shifting the focus to the music industry. In doing so, the director has allowed his star, Denzel Washington, to shine in a manner he has never done before.
Highest 2 Lowestand the original film that inspired it are crime noir movies that feature a deadly game of cat and mouse. However, in Lee’s remake, Washington’s character, David King, is much more involved than his Kurosawa counterpart. King discovers the culprit behind the kidnapping, and the person who took his ransom money is a rapper named Yung Felon (brought to life expertly by A$AP Rocky). Washington’s character confronts Yung Felon in a recording studio, where the duo engage in a freestyle rap battle, a first in Washington’s lengthy and legendary filmography.
In an interview withEntertainment Weekly, Spike Lee expressed his excitement for how the scene turned out, describing how it occurred, saying, “Cameras rolling, I’m not gonna stop. They were flowing. It was a rap battle! That was gold. That was better than anything written.” Lee had little no direction or writing for the scene, letting Washington and A$AP Rocky play off each other in a naturalistic and exciting way.
‘Highest 2 Lowest’ Further Cements Denzel Washington as One of the All-Time Greats
The confrontation is a highlight of the film, and one whose rising tension leads to a cathartic chase through the streets of New York. Washington was more than ready to freestyle with the acclaimed artist: “I’ve been listening to rap music long before A$AP was born. I’ve been up on the music and culture for 40, 50 years. We were battling!” The freestyle scene in question helps to flesh out the dynamic between the two, a deepened relationship that helps to separate Lee’s film from Kurosawa’s iconic original noir.
In an episode of theMillion Dollaz Worth Of Gamepodcast, A$AP Rocky described his feelings about making the scene, as he was taken off guard by Washington’s deep knowledge of hip-hop and his ability to rap: “That was crazy because I did not know that that man was such a fan of hip-hop like that, So in the scene, he just start freestyling like regular, so it caught me off guard, but I was fanning out the whole time. […] And just to see him freestyle, he got me up out of there. I lost a battle to Denzel.”
Highest 2 Lowestis an imaginative remake that effectively retains the core themes of the original film while also establishing its own distinct cultural identity. The key changes to the story enable Lee to thrive in his own element, and the rap battle betweenDenzel Washingtonand A$AP Rocky serves as proof of both the director’s sensibilities and Washington’s status as a powerhouse performer who will go down as one of the all-time greats.
Highest 2 Lowest
