At 68 and 70 years old, respectively, Spike Lee and Denzel Washington have grown from brash young talents into Hollywood’s elder statesmen before our very eyes. Both men have accomplished enough in their careers that making a few crowd-pleasing movies that play to their strengths in their twilight years could be forgiven, and perhaps even welcomed. But with “Highest 2 Lowest,” their fifth collaboration as director and star, Spike and Denzel continue to push the envelope and bring out the best in each other.

The film — a remake of legendary director Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 thriller “High and Low” — begins with a sweeping shot that ascends from the Brooklyn Bridge up to a luxury penthouse atop the Olympia building in Dumbo, where record executive David King (Washington) is on the phone, mak

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