Highest 2 Lowest

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Highest 2 Lowest
Highest 2 Lowest.jpg
Release poster
Directed by Spike Lee
Screenplay byAlan Fox [1]
Based on
Produced by
Starring
Cinematography Matthew Libatique
Edited by
Music by Howard Drossin
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • May 19, 2025 (2025-05-19)(Cannes)
  • August 15, 2025 (2025-08-15)(United States)
  • September 5, 2025 (2025-09-05)(Apple TV+)
Running time
133 minutes [2]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$1.5 million [3]

Highest 2 Lowest is a 2025 American crime thriller film directed by Spike Lee from a screenplay by Alan Fox. It is an English-language remake and reinterpretation of Akira Kurosawa's 1963 Japanese film High and Low , itself based on the 1959 novel King's Ransom by Ed McBain. The film stars Denzel Washington, Jeffrey Wright, Ilfenesh Hadera, ASAP Rocky, John Douglas Thompson, Dean Winters, LaChanze, Princess Nokia, and Ice Spice (in her film debut). It marks the first collaboration between Lee and Washington since Inside Man (2006).

Contents

Principal photography began in New York City in March 2024, and wrapped that May. Highest 2 Lowest had its world premiere out of competition of the Cannes Film Festival on May 19, 2025, and was released theatrically in the United States by A24 on August 15, before it will be made available on Apple TV+ on September 5. [4] It received positive reviews from critics.

Plot

David King is a New York City music mogul, considered to have the "best ears in the business" and the founder of Stackin' Hits Records. Having once sold his majority interest in the company, King intends to buy back majority ownership to avert a buyout by a rival label. To regain majority ownership, King offers to buy out one of his two partner's shares. To raise the cash for the deal, he puts up most of his personal assets, including his Dumbo penthouse home and impressive collection of art by contemporary Black artists, as collateral.

The day the deal is to go through, King receives an anonymous call from a kidnapper, demanding $17.5 million in Swiss 1,000-franc notes for the safe return of his son Trey. King immediately contacts the police and agrees with his wife Pam to pay the ransom, even though it risks the cash he needs for his business deal. However, Trey is soon found safe as the kidnapper has mistakenly taken Kyle, Trey's best friend and the son of King's driver and confidant Paul Christopher.

The kidnapper still demands the money in exchange for Kyle's life. Despite King's earlier willingness to ransom his own son, he is reluctant to do the same for Kyle. Paul and Trey both plead with King to save Kyle. King's partner warns that failing to do so will hurt the company's image. After a long night of soul-searching, King agrees to pay the ransom.

Following the kidnapper's instructions, King packs the money in an Air Jordan backpack, which the police mark with a GPS tracker, goes to Brooklyn's Borough Hall subway stop, and gets on a train to Yankee Stadium. Near the stadum, the kidnapper calls King and orders him to go between the train cars. Then someone triggers the emergency brake, the train jerks to a halt, and the bag falls between the cars and through the ironwork of the elevated line to the street. An accomplice of the kidnapper, riding a moped, catches it, and the bag is subsequently handed off between the kidnapper's accomplices on mopeds several times as they try to escape through the nearby Puerto Rican Day Parade. When the police manage to catch the bagman, the money has already been removed. Kyle is released.

King's actions have made him a hero to the public, and several songs by Stackin' Hits are climbing the charts. Still, King's lenders for the $17.5 million say he must pay them back in two weeks, or they will begin seizing the collateral he used to secure the loan as it would be considered fraud since the money was agreed to only be used for the buy out. Their reason is that King broke the terms of their contract by using the money to pay Kyle's ransom instead of for purchasing shares of Stackin' Hits. Kyle is unable to identify his kidnapper, but recalls hearing a distinctive hip-hop track while he was captive. King, listening to a playlist of demo tracks that Trey usually puts together for him to listen to, recognizes the song and realizes that the artist, Yung Felon, must be the kidnapper.

The police dismiss this lead, so King and Paul, both armed, track down Yung Felon's address themselves. King meets his wife and infant son. She tells him that Felon is an ex-convict and aspiring rapper who idolizes King. Believing he wants to sign Felon to his label, Felon's wife directs King to his recording studio, where he confronts Felon. In an impromptu rap battle, Felon explains that he saw King as a father figure and resorted to the kidnapping plot after being ignored by him for years. A gunfight breaks out and Felon flees onto a nearby elevated subway train. King chases him to the platform and onto the train, finally catching Felon between cars and knocking him unconscious.

David offers Paul a chance to be part of the new label. Paul, who has injured his left eye in the gunfight with Felon, says that it's time for him and his son to do something new. Yung Felon, who has become the most-streamed musical artist in the world, takes a plea deal, accepting a 25-year prison sentence, in return for King meeting him face-to-face. When they meet, Felon tries to convince King to sign him, saying that they both will make a lot of money. King reveals that he has left Stackin' Hits Records to create a new, smaller label, and rejects Felon, who explodes in anger and disappointment.

Back at their penthouse home, King, Pam, and Trey audition Sula, a young singer-songwriter discovered by Trey. Her performance of her song "Highest 2 Lowest", wows the Kings, who offer to sign her to their new label.

Cast

Rick Fox, [6] Rod Strickland, [6] Don Lemon, Eddie Palmieri, Anthony Ramos, and Rosie Perez appear as themselves.

Production

Spike Lee received the original script by Alan Fox prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and was involved with rewriting it after Denzel Washington became attached to star. [7] [8] In February 2024, the film was announced, to be produced by A24, Todd Black for Escape Artists, and Jason Michael Berman for Mandalay Pictures, with Lee as director and executive producer through his 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks label. [9] It is the fifth collaboration between Lee and Washington, and their most recent since Inside Man (2006). [8] Ilfenesh Hadera, Jeffrey Wright, and Ice Spice joined the cast in the following months. [10] [11] [12] According to Lee, ASAP Rocky has the "main role" in the film. [8] ASAP Rocky also created two songs from the movie's soundtrack, "Both Eyes Closed" and "Trunks". [13] Principal photography began in New York City on March 4, 2024, with Matthew Libatique as cinematographer, and wrapped on May 31, 2024. [14] [15] The production design featured reproductions of paintings in Lee's art collection, including works by Jean-Michel Basquiat, Kehinde Wiley, Deborah Roberts, and Frederick J. Brown. [16]

Music

The soundtrack to Highest 2 Lowest was released by A24 Music on August 15, 2025. The soundtrack contains 19 tracks composed by Howard Drossin. [17] [18]

Highest 2 Lowest
(Original Soundtrack)
Film score by
Howard Drossin, Various
ReleasedAugust 15, 2025
Length1:14:36
Label A24 Music

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Highest 2 Lowest"3:36
2."We Got This"5:41
3."And Now We Shall Begin"1:35
4."Oh, What A Beautiful Mornin'"3:14
5."All Money Ain't Good Money"4:30
6."Loving Partners (Trio)"4:12
7."Da Lowdown"4:59
8."Trunks"3:44
9."The Chase"5:03
10."Paul Begs (Solo Piano)"3:38
11."Da Kings"1:14
12."Questioning Kyle"2:50
13."King David"3:04
14."Both Eyes Closed"4:14
15."Loving Partners (Orchestra)"3:44
16."Puerto Rico"7:09
17."Paul Begs (Trio)"5:00
18."Brooklyn Hospital"2:29
19."Prisencolin (Americano Joint)"4:40
Total length:1:14:36

Release

In April 2025, Thierry Frémaux, artistic director of the Cannes Film Festival, confirmed that Highest 2 Lowest would be premiering out of competition at the Cannes Film Festival on May 19, 2025. The festival's official lineup announcement did not include the film as it was awaiting confirmation on Denzel Washington's attendance for the premiere. [19] The film was scheduled to be released theatrically by A24 on August 22, before it is available to stream on Apple TV+ September 5. [9] [20] Its theatrical release was later moved up to August 15. [21]

The original score for the film, composed by Howard Drossin, was released as an album by A24 Music along with a soundtrack album including original songs by ASAP Rocky, Aiyana-Lee, and Jensen McRae, and an EP of music by Scottish pianist and composer Fergus McCreadie. [22]

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 90% of 165 critics' reviews are positive.The website's consensus reads: "Spike Lee and Denzel Washington remix a classic with vibrantly contemporary results in Highest 2 Lowest, a swaggering thriller that lovingly showcases New York City." [23] Metacritic , which uses a weighted average , assigned the film a score of 73 out of 100, based on 41 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. [24]

Robert Daniels of RogerEbert.com gave the film three and a half out of four stars and wrote, "While many will come to Highest 2 Lowest craving the angst of Kurosawa's masterpiece, for once Lee isn't setting out to copy what was great before. He is using the past as a starting point to launch into what may be the final phase of his career. He is wielding a plethora of inspirations—musical, cinematic, and historical—to reunite with an old friend. He is making a Spike Lee joint. And it's exceptional." [25]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Highest 2 Lowest". Writers Guild of America West . November 19, 2024. Retrieved March 10, 2025.
  2. "Highest 2 Lowest (15)". British Board of Film Classification . August 26, 2025. Retrieved August 26, 2025.
  3. "Highest 2 Lowest – Financial Information". The Numbers . Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved August 28, 2025.
  4. Bradshaw, Peter (May 19, 2025). "Highest 2 Lowest review – Spike Lee and Denzel Washington remake Kurosawa in fine style". The Guardian . ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved May 20, 2025.
  5. https://time.com/7309886/aiyana-lee-highest-2-lowest-song/ [ bare URL ]
  6. 1 2 Brody, Richard (August 15, 2025). ""Highest 2 Lowest" Marks a Conservative Pivot for Spike Lee". The New Yorker. ISSN   0028-792X . Retrieved August 24, 2025.
  7. Gardner, Chris (May 4, 2024). "Spike Lee and Giancarlo Esposito Reunite for Fiat Campaign, Talk Denzel Washington, Megalopolis and AI". The Hollywood Reporter . Archived from the original on May 5, 2024. Retrieved May 4, 2024.
  8. 1 2 3 Lodderhose, Diana (December 9, 2024). "Spike Lee on Reuniting with Denzel Washington for Highest 2 Lowest with A$AP Rocky & Ice Spice — Red Sea Studio". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on December 16, 2024. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
  9. 1 2 Stephan, Katcy (February 8, 2024). "Denzel Washington and Spike Lee Reuniting to Remake Kurosawa's High and Low with A24 and Apple". Variety . Archived from the original on January 8, 2025. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
  10. Grobar, Matt (March 18, 2024). "Ilfenesh Hadera Joins Denzel Washington in Spike Lee's High and Low for Apple, A24". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on March 27, 2024. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  11. Kroll, Justin; Grobar, Matt (March 19, 2024). "Jeffrey Wright Latest to Join Denzel Washington in Spike Lee's High and Low". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on March 19, 2024. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
  12. Stephan, Katcy; Lang, Brent (April 10, 2024). "Ice Spice Set to Appear in Spike Lee's High and Low with Denzel Washington (Exclusive)". Variety . Retrieved April 10, 2024.
  13. Williams, Aaron (August 6, 2025). "ASAP Rocky to Have Two New Songs on the Highest 2 Lowest Soundtrack". UPROXX. Retrieved August 8, 2025.
  14. Tangcay, Jazz (March 3, 2024). "Oppenheimer: Hoyte Van Hoytema Wins Top Honors at American Society of Cinematographers Awards". Variety . Archived from the original on March 4, 2024. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
  15. Klawans, Justin (June 3, 2024). "Filming Wraps on Spike Lee's 'High and Low' Remake Starring Denzel Washington". Collider . Archived from the original on October 2, 2024. Retrieved August 15, 2024.
  16. Chen, Min (August 18, 2025). "Spike Lee's New Film Turns His Art Collection Into a Cinematic Set Piece". Artnet News. Retrieved August 19, 2025.
  17. "Highest 2 Lowest (Original Soundtrack) by Various Artists on Apple Music". August 15, 2025. Archived from the original on August 23, 2025. Retrieved August 23, 2025.
  18. Deb, Anurekha (August 8, 2025). "Highest 2 Lowest soundtrack guide: A complete list of the music in the Denzel Washington film". SoapCentral . Archived from the original on August 23, 2025. Retrieved August 23, 2025.
  19. Keslassy, Elsa (April 10, 2025). "Cannes Chief Thierry Fremaux Confirms Spike Lee's Highest 2 Lowest Premiere with Denzel Washington, Explains Why Film Wasn't in Lineup Reveal: "Wanted to Be Cautious"". Variety . Archived from the original on April 15, 2025. Retrieved April 10, 2025.
  20. Coats, Lauren (May 5, 2025). "Highest 2 Lowest Trailer: Denzel Washington and Spike Lee Reunite in New York City Crime Thriller with A$AP Rocky". Variety. Retrieved May 5, 2025.
  21. Ntim, Zac (August 4, 2025). "Highest 2 Lowest Trailer: Denzel Washington & A$AP Rocky Are in a City-Wide Battle in the Latest Joint from Spike Lee". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 4, 2025.
  22. Strauss, Matthew (August 6, 2025). "Spike Lee Details Soundtrack for New Movie Highest 2 Lowest". Pitchfork . Retrieved August 15, 2025.
  23. "Highest 2 Lowest". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media . Retrieved August 28, 2025. OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  24. "Highest 2 Lowest". Metacritic . Fandom, Inc. Retrieved August 28, 2025.
  25. Daniels, Robert (May 19, 2025). "Highest 2 Lowest". RogerEbert.com . Retrieved May 19, 2025.