Spike Lee’s Highest 2 Lowest furthers the narrative liberties that Akira Kurosawa’s High and Low…

Highest 2 Lowest: A Worthy Retelling and Exercise in Empathy

Spike Lee’s Highest 2 Lowest furthers the narrative liberties that Akira Kurosawa’s High and Low took while reincorporating unused aspects of their shared source novel to thrillingly contextualize a dramatic moral dilemma with complicated modern relationships marked by class and generational divides.

As in the source material, the protagonist is in a risky process of liquidating his assets to save his corporate empire when he is informed that his child is being held for ransom. The kidnapper’s demands will leave his family destitute. With his wife, best friend, and the police by David’s side as the ordeal unfolds, it is soon revealed that the kidnapper took the wrong child. The kidnapper persists in his demand, revealing the victim to be Kyle, the son of the main character’s loyal childhood friend and personal driver, Paul. This essay examines how this film meaningfully adapts the material, integrates modern complexities, brings the characters to their lowest places to evaluate and elevate them, and the reception of the contrasting tone the film presents. This evaluation spoils plot devices resolved early in the film, but rest assured, the thrill these moral dilemmas create is not dampened.

Ed McBain’s original novel, King’s Ransom, served as the source material for Kurosawa’s 1963 cinematic masterpiece. King’s Ransom is a fairly routine standalone entry in a long-running series of procedural New York City police dramas, in which the main character is driven by ruthless capitalism. Kurosawa viewed this material not as an opportunity to build a franchise, but to reframe the story as a critique of the morality and priorities presented in the original novel.

Highest 2 Lowest is elevated through a selective curation of McBain’s novel, Kurosawa’s alterations, and an infusion of Spike Lee’s taste for collaborative and improvisational spirit. In the original novel, Douglas King faces the moral crisis by prioritizing capitalism, refusing to pay the ransom. In adapting Kurosawa’s version of the story, the renamed David King is at first reluctant to pay the ransom. King is forced to face the morality of the matter not only through conversation with those around him, but also in a deeply personal scene of self-reflection. While Kurosawa’s High and Low moves the story to a postwar Japan, showcasing the American influence on Japanese culture, Highest 2 Lowest returns the story to contemporary New York City. Rather than being an enthusiastic artisan of finely made shoes, the main character is now the founder of Stackin’ Hits Records. This allows the plot to explore a family man as a mogul in an industry being impacted by artificial intelligence and algorithms. While the class distinctions in Japanese culture presented in the original film are rigidly defined, the complications in Paul and David’s intimate relationship and their class differences are painstakingly explored in an improvised scene showing Paul’s plea, which reveals that Kyle is also David’s godson.

Spike Lee integrates the complexities of a rapidly advancing online world into the fabric of the film. The film is not shy about embracing the impact of social media and technology on industry and personal relationships. Despite Trey King’s persistence in helping his father stay abreast of rising artists he finds online, David neglects Trey’s playlists and ambitions. In these scenes prior to the kidnapping, David is so focused on saving his business, he neglects to consider how his actions will affect those in his life. While David leaves the ransom unpaid, Trey is distraught by the onslaught of harassment typical of an online world. Several characters restate the all too present social media mantra, “attention is the new currency.” It is clear that just as David’s financial status is at risk, he shows an emotional deficit within his personal relationships.

Structuring the kidnapping resolution early allows the last hour of the film to focus on David King’s descent and transformation from highest to lowest. Following Paul’s sincere appeal and Trey’s vocal disappointment with his father’s choice, David experiences a true crisis of conscience. He retires to his study, which is adorned with awards and monuments to his career. David cries and prays aloud to the void, to his god, to his inner self, and to portraits of inspirational figures during the first private moment he finds. This scene showcases the gutting process of a man’s firm resolve slowly crumbling. He concludes he’ll pay the ransom. David’s heroism is not without consequence, as he now faces potential fraud charges and prison time if he cannot return the funds used for the ransom to Stackin’ Hits Records within two weeks.

While Paul attends to his recently recovered son, David King resumes an abandoned hobby from simpler times by walking across the Brooklyn Bridge while listening to new music. In a breakthrough moment of growth, David finally listens to Trey’s playlist. While fully drawn into a new song, a familiar voice shatters this moment of peace. The kidnapper’s voice is as distinct in this song as it is during the phone calls with the kidnapper. David informs Paul and the dismissive police of this new lead. Determined to save David from a life in prison, Paul feeds this clue to connections from his past lifestyle to locate the kidnapper. Together, they will descend to the locations and violent methods of their youth to reclaim their lives. By the end of the film, both the main character and antagonist are truly transformed by their choices. The villain may think of David as being at his lowest point, but David King is once again enthused about his humble next phase in life and business.

In line with the original, even critics who enjoyed the film did not enjoy the shifting tone inherent to the film’s journey. While most reviews are enthusiastic about the experience, some critics view the shifts in tone, themes, and characters as a flaw of the film. Dominic Griffin noted in the Baltimore Beat that the film contained “Questionable conclusions and inconsistent themes.” (Griffin). This critique is notable for mirroring some of the contemporary reception to the original film, before it evolved into a highly revered film. Kurosawa was aware audiences would feel jarred from the experience, as the original title translated directly to Heaven and Hell, more directly representing the journey audiences would take. Akira Kurosawa Scholar Stephen Prince notes in the Criterion DVD audio commentary that distributors likely changed the title of the film to avoid religious perceptions in American audiences. (Prince, “Audio Commentary”)

While for the creators the class divisions and generational divides in the film were a feature of the film that enabled the characters to evolve, others, like Pitchfork critic Alphonse Pierre, felt Spike Lee failed to show empathy for the younger characters, including the kidnapper. Reflecting on the villain, Alphonse stated, “Spike has no sympathy for Yung Felon. He barely portrays him as a real human, just a scary microcosm of a generation that, with their brains fried by the attention economy of the internet and a hip-hop culture that has lost its way, is unrecognizable to him.” (Pierre) This stance overlooks key parts of the penultimate confrontation. Without giving away the details, the film shows David fully engaging with the villain, asking questions to understand him, and even going so far as to offer him an opportunity. David truly sees and understands what he sees within Yung Felon, which informs the decision he makes in the final moments of the film.

Regardless of audience familiarity with the source material or any works inspired by it, Highest 2 Lowest offers a fresh perspective and a grand exercise in letting your empathy cross the boundaries implied by societal and class structures. While remakes may be dismissed, Spike Lee reminds us that, like Kurosawa and generations of humans telling stories to their communities gathered by campfires, some stories are worthy of retelling and tailoring to the times and audience.

Griffin, Dominic. “Spike Lee’s ‘Highest 2 Lowest’ is a primo old head cinema.” Baltimore Beat, 15 August 2025, baltimorebeat.com/spike-lees-highest-2-lowest-is-primo-old-head-cinema/

Pierre, Alphonse. “Spike Lee’s Moral Maze.” Pitchfork, 12 Sept, 2025, pitchfork.com/thepitch/highest-2-lowest-review-spike-lee-new-movie/.

Prince, Stephen, Commentator. High and Low. Directed by Akira Kurosawa, The Criterion Collection, 2008.

Highest 2 Lowest. Directed by Spike Lee, 2025, A24 and Apple Inc.

King’s Ransom. Written by Ed McBain, 1959.

High and Low. Directed by Akira Kurosawa. 1963.

Note: This is my first Evaluation Essay for community college.