MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
It's been almost 20 years since Spike Lee last directed Denzel Washington in a film. Their new collaboration - their fifth - is a police procedural based on a 1963 classic by Akira Kurosawa. It's called "Highest 2 Lowest," and critic Bob Mondello seems to think it's almost all highs.
BOB MONDELLO, BYLINE: When we first spot him from a soaring camera above New York City, music mogul David King seems almost literally on top of the world. Played by Denzel Washington, he's pacing the balcony of his penthouse apartment, fleshing out a deal he will soon broach to his business partner of 25 years.
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DENZEL WASHINGTON: (As David King) I'm buying back Stackin' Hits Records.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: (As character) It's a lot of money.
WASHINGTON: (As David King) There's more to life than just making money.
MONDELLO: Though his wife and teenage son don't know it yet, David's putting up their penthouse, mansion and art that makes it seem as if they're living in a museum of Black excellence - everything they have, really - to make the deal come together. As he heads into work, he asks Paul, his friend and limo driver, to put a soundtrack to the way he's feeling.
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WASHINGTON: (As David King) I need a theme.
JEFFREY WRIGHT: (As Paul Christopher) Theme music.
MONDELLO: Paul cranks some up. David's all about music, and filmmaker Spike Lee crams his story with it.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "AIN'T NO STOPPIN' US NOW")
MCFADDEN AND WHITEHEAD: (Singing) Ain't no stopping us now.
MONDELLO: Disco when Paul's driving David to work, romantic piano when he's flirting with his wife, skittering jazz when he's teasing his son, Trey, about spending so much time on a cell phone. Then later that day, David gets a call, and the music abruptly goes out of his life.
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WASHINGTON: (As David King) Somebody's got Trey.
ILFENESH HADERA: (As Pam King) What do you mean, somebody's got...
WASHINGTON: (As David King) Somebody's kidnapped our son.
MONDELLO: It's not that simple. If you've seen Akira Kurosawa's "Heaven And Hell," or as it was known in this country, "High And Low," you know the stakes are about to change radically.
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A$AP ROCKY: (As Yung Felon) King David. Now ain't this something?
WASHINGTON: (As David King) Sorry (ph)?
A$AP ROCKY: (As Yung Felon) I got your full attention now, huh? You finally listening to me.
WASHINGTON: (As David King) Yeah, I'm listening.
MONDELLO: Having just amassed the funds to buy back his company, David can pay the ransom for Trey, but the kidnapper didn't get Trey. And as this phone call continues, David's family and the police and Paul are all listening.
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WASHINGTON: (As David King) You know you got the wrong boy, right?
A$AP ROCKY: (As Yung Felon) Yeah, so I've heard. And I also learned you can never trust the help.
WASHINGTON: (As David King, laughter).
A$AP ROCKY: (As Yung Felon) But luckily for me, it was never about the boy. It was always about you.
WASHINGTON: (As David King) Well, fair enough. But if it's about me, then you can't expect me to pay $17 1/2 million for somebody else's son, if it's about me.
A$AP ROCKY: (As Yung Felon) Well, then his blood is going to be on your hands, then. How you want it?
MONDELLO: Paul, devastated by what he's hearing, goes to David when the call is done.
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WRIGHT: (As Paul Christopher) I see all you do, and I could never stop thanking you for what you did for me. But I never really asked you for anything.
WASHINGTON: (As David King) You never had to, Paul.
WRIGHT: (As Paul Christopher) That's right. That's right. You gave to me freely. I love you for that. Right now, I'm asking you for everything. I'm asking you for my life.
WASHINGTON: (As David King) No, you ain't asking me for life. Right now, you're asking me for $17.5 million. That's all people do, is ask me for stuff.
MONDELLO: This isn't really a moral dilemma. There is a right answer here. And when the police tell David they expect to get his money back, he agrees to the kidnapper's terms.
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A$AP ROCKY: (As Yung Felon) 11 am, board the 4 train going to...
MONDELLO: But again, it's not that simple. Kurosawa staged the ransom handoff on a speeding train, and in this reimagining - or maybe remix or cover version - Lee starts things off with a subway crammed with chanting fans headed for Yankee Stadium, then throws in motorcycles, police cruisers and a street concert by Eddie Palmieri and his orchestra. It's one of the flashiest action sequences you're likely to see anytime soon. And with all of that, he still hasn't gotten to the good stuff.
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A$AP ROCKY: (As Yung Felon) Where's my money? I got the 4-pounder sitting right here. Don't try nothing funny.
MONDELLO: Washington's at the very top of his game as David. His driver, Paul, is played by a choked-with-emotion Jeffrey Wright, whose actual son, Elijah Wright, plays his on-screen son, Kyle. Musician A$AP Rocky is terrific in an impromptu rap battle through glass with Washington.
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A$AP ROCKY: (As Yung Felon) I ain't trying to go back and do another bid, you dig?
MONDELLO: And everywhere there are grace notes - cameos, recreations of art from Spike Lee's own collection, in-jokes - to complement the pulsing, vibrant, rousing, seriously musical and occasionally even profound entertainment that is "Highest 2 Lowest."
I'm Bob Mondello.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "HIGHEST 2 LOWEST")
AIYANA-LEE: (Singing) Now I'm wiser. My future's looking much brighter now that you're out of my life. Now that you're gone, I can finally sleep. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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