New Apple TV+ Movie with Denzel Washington Gets Mixed Reviews

"Highest 2 Lowest" screens at Atlantic Station ahead of nationwide release

On Wednesday, August 13, Atlantic Station hosted a screening of Spike Lee’s new crime thriller “Highest 2 Lowest,” just two days before its nationwide theatrical release. Lee’s latest film is the reimagining of Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 classic “High and Low” which also marks a triumphant reunion between the legendary director and Denzel Washington after nearly two decades apart. Washington, who stars as David King, a music mogul with “the best ears…

Not Even Denzel Can Save 'Highest 2 Lowest'

Spike Lee has seen too many movies. How else to explain “Highest 2 Lowest,” a farcical thriller where nearly every twist feels like it was cribbed from a lesser film. Shouldn’t Lee know better? Even worse, he doesn’t know what to do with one of our greatest living actors. Yes, Lee and Denzel Washington made magic in the past, but the actor’s role here never makes sense. Not in the beginning, middle or end of the film. That’s movie magic in rever…

Review: In 'Highest 2 Lowest,' Spike Lee swings between tonal extremes, not always effectively

Reuniting with his longtime leading man Denzel Washington and remaking an Akira Kurosawa crime classic, Lee captures energy and moral complexity, sometimes wildly.

Spike Lee’s ‘Highest 2 Lowest’ both soars and stumbles

From the opening moments of “Highest 2 Lowest,” Spike Lee’s remix-as-remake of Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 film “High and Low,” you should know that the filmmaker is here primarily for a good time, and he’s asking us to play along. Over aerial shots of the sun hitting the New York City skyline, including the stunning Olympia building looming over DUMBO, Brooklyn, Lee layers “Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’,” the opening song from the 1943 Rodgers and Ham…

Movie review: Spike Lee's 'Highest 2 Lowest' soars at times, stumbles in places

From the opening moments of “Highest 2 Lowest,” Spike Lee’s remix-as-remake of Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 film “High and Low,” you should know that the filmmaker is here primarily for a good time, and he’s asking us to play along.

New Apple TV+ movie with Denzel Washington gets mixed reviews

With just two days to go until its theatrical release, the first reviews for Highest 2 Lowest are in. Here’s what critics have to say about the new Spike Lee movie, featuring Denzel Washington. more…