Written by Sam Clark 

Certificate: 15

Running time: 133 minutes 

Director: Spike Lee

Amidst all of your usual popcorn, blockbuster entertainment in which artistic vision is virtually non-existent, having filmmakers with distinct and unique visions and styles is one of the last things keeping Hollywood fresh and original: I am of course talking about auteurship. My mind instantly comes to Wes Anderson as the primary example as I believe he is the only filmmaker with an aesthetic so individualistic and rare, that it can't be replicated, which reinforces how important he is to the business. Other examples, although not as strong, can include Quentin Tarantino, David Fincher, Christopher Nolan and also Spike Lee (you could spend all day listing directors, these are just the names that came to mind). Lee has spent his career giving us groovy, laid back comedies/dramas that also have important morals and lessons, interwoven with bizarre yet creative transitions that add a little spice. 

Not only is this visible in most of his work and with how his characters talk and act, but, strangely in his film's marketing. What is also interesting, is that I cannot think of any other director whose auteur nature is also reflective in posters and trailers. Instead of ''A new film by Spike Lee'', we are instead given ''A Spike Lee joint''. To hell with normality, strange and quirky is what we want and has has certainly given us that over the decades. He reunites once more with Denzel Washington (the two worked with each other on Malcolm X, He Got Game and Inside Man). This is based on the novel King's Ransom by Evan Hunter, and Akira Kurosawa's High and Low. 

Image credit: IMDb/David Lee/Apple 

Washington plays David King, a powerful music producer and co-founder of ''Stackin Hits Records''. He is about to make a risky but lucrative business move, when all of a sudden he receives a ransom demand from a mysterious caller saying his son has been kidnapped, and he must pay $17.5 million dollars. He soon realizes that the son who has been kidnapped is in fact not his son, but actually the child of his chauffeur played by Jeffrey Wright. Throughout the course of the film, David grapples with whether or not to pay the ransom and sacrifice his legacy; or instead stay focused on preserving his own career and empire. 

I went into Highest 2 Lowest not knowing a great deal, other than the fact it was another collaboration between these two and it was about music. I came away slightly more underwhelmed than I hoped I would. What we have here is a film that is saved by it's central performance, a central performance so dominant and powerful that I have no arrived at the conclusion I should have come to long ago. For me, Denzel Washington is the third greatest actor of all time, Marlon Brando being my second choice and Daniel Day Lewis taking the top spot. I have always loved his work, so a simple and easy decision it was. 

Just like he did in Gladiator 2 and Training Day (most people would say that's their favourite role of his - I would say it's his best, but for me my favourite is Unstoppable, also one of my favourite film of all time), he commands and dominates every single frame and scene he is in as if it were his own, completely overshadowing anyone around him. Much like those two, he utterly relishes in the bling and power of his characters, as here he is seen suited and booted with rings, ear pieces, necklaces and sunglasses and you can tell just how much he loves it; and how good he is at owning it. I still believe he should have been Oscar nominated for Ridley Scott's sequel, but given how disappointing last year was for some performance nominations, I was not surprised. He's got a better chance here, I would say, so fingers crossed. What I also love is just how much he brings his real life persona to the character, he comes across very down to earth and even rather philosophical in interviews and so on, so it's great to see him do that here. 

However, for an A24, Spike Lee and Denzel Washington collaboration, it's surprising how little it's story offers as a whole. In the past, I have gone with Lee's style with no problem, but here, it did feel as though it prevented me from proper emotional engagement. This is no different to what he usually does, so it's odd and surprising that it just didn't work for me on this occasion, I wanted slightly more punch and impact to this. BlacKkKlansman is my favourite of his films, and one could say that was the riskiest film of his career with how he approached that. But the fact he interwove a story about the Klu Klux Klan and made it as funny and stylistic as it was with his style of comedy and humour is why he is such a good director. 

If I had no knowledge of his previous work and you told me it's from the same visionary, I would not have believed you. Even though Highest 2 Lowest wasn't quite the fit I hoped and wanted it to be, I'm confident fans of Spike Lee will still have a good time. That's what's important. 

On Apple TV+ now.