US Edition
Denzel Washington and A$AP Rocky Had a Rap Battle. One Is Claiming Victory
Spike Lee updates Kurosawa's story with a $17.5 million ransom dilemma faced by a music mogul in present-day New York, exploring loyalty and power in the industry.
- On August 11, 2025, Spike Lee reunited with Denzel Washington at the New York premiere of Highest 2 Lowest at Brooklyn Academy of Music.
- Spike Lee directed a screenplay by Alan Fox reworking both Kurosawa’s High and Low and McBain’s King’s Ransom, creating Highest 2 Lowest, a modern reimagining of the original film.
- The plot thickens as the kidnappers still want the ransom of $17.5 million after Trey’s safe return, threatening Kyle’s life.
- Reviewers highlight Spike Lee’s command of New York storytelling in this film, calling it a solid effort despite unlikely Oscar prospects.
- In the coming weeks, Ilfenesh Hadera and the cast were headed west for the film’s premiere in Los Angeles before Highest 2 Lowest streams on Apple TV+ on September 5, 2025.
56 Articles
56 Articles
Finger Lakes Times
Yakima Herald-RepublicMovie Review: Spike Lee's 'Highest 2 Lowest' finds its groove in New York's streets
Spike Lee reteams with Denzel Washington for the fifth time in “Highest 2 Lowest.” The film is a new riff on Kurosawa's “High and Low,” set in modern-day New York around a music mogul's moral dilemma. In her review for…
Associated Press News
Denzel Washington and A$AP Rocky had a rap battle. One is claiming victory
A$AP Rocky had no idea Denzel Washington was going to throw Nas at him. Midway through Spike Lee’s “Highest 2 Lowest,” Washington's wealthy music executive David King has cornered Rocky's aspiring rapper Yung Felon after he tried to kidnap his son.
Spike Lee, Denzel Washington, And Jeffrey Wright On ‘Highest 2 Lowest,’ Humanity, And Their Cinematic Legacies
By Malik Peay ·Updated August 13, 2025 Getting your Trinity Audio player ready… Returning to cinema with another joint, auteur Spike Lee packages a rock-hard fist of fury with a heroic musical soundtrack. Highest 2 Lowest marks his fifth motion picture with Denzel Washington and a cultural reinterpretation of historic Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa’s black-and-white 1963 film, High and Low. Out in theaters on August 15 and available to stream…
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