Spike Lee's new film Highest 2 Lowest, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival 2025

 

Highest 2 Lowest emerges as a divisive Spike Lee–Denzel Washington collaboration: many critics see it as a high‑energy, culturally resonant neo‑noir with standout performances and cinematic flair; others feel its pacing, tone, or thematic overload hold it back from greatness. The consensus hovers around metascore ~76, suggesting a solid if imperfect experience.

Highest 2 Lowest is a 2025 American neo-noir crime thriller film directed by Spike Lee from a screenplay by William Alan Fox. It is an English-language reinterpretation of Akira Kurosawa's 1963 Japanese film High and Low, itself loosely based on the 1959 novel King's Ransom by Ed McBain (Evan Hunter). The film stars Denzel Washington, Ilfenesh Hadera, Jeffrey Wright, ASAP Rocky, and Ice Spice (in her film debut).

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 is scheduled be released theatrically in the United States by A24 on August 15, before it will be made available on Apple TV+ on September 5.

Spike Lee has taken Akira Kurosawa’s “High and Low” to new highs, delivering a soul-searching genre movie that entertains while sounding the alarm about where the culture could be headed. After a kidnapping forces hip-hop mogul David King (Denzel Washington) to put his priorities into perspective, he throws down in the remake’s all-new climax. As David reclaims what he loves, we can hear Lee’s own passions: as a teacher of film, a speaker of truths and an elder statesman to the community.

Praise at the Peak

• Metacritic assigns a metascore of 76 (“generally favorable”) based on 19 critic reviews. 79% positive, 21% mixed, and no outright negative reviews so far.

• The Hollywood Reporter (David Rooney) and Variety (Peter Debruge) both rate it 90/100, lauding it as a polished, entertaining reinvention merging genre thrills with social commentary IMDb.

• RogerEbert.com (Robert Daniels) gives it 3.5/4 stars, calling it “unabashedly epic, fearlessly funny” and possibly Spike Lee’s most energetic film since Inside Man CBR.

• IGN, The Playlist, and FirstShowing.net all rate it around 83–90, praising Washington’s commanding performance and the film’s kinetic direction

  

  
  Key Themes from Critics

• Performance highlights: Denzel Washington is credited with a magnetic lead performance; A$AP Rocky and Aiyana‑Lee Anderson deliver breakout scenes that many say elevate the film (especially during a subway–rap confrontation and audition sequence).

• Visual and narrative tone: Critics admire Spike Lee’s pitch-perfect New York aesthetic, kinetic camera work, and bold tonal shifts. But several reviewers find the first half slow, the comedy misfired, and the score overbearing.

• Cultural ambition vs. execution: While praised for tackling themes of legacy, race, and art versus commerce in modern America, some say the film’s ambitious ideas don’t always mesh, leaving a sense of half-realized promise

  Sharper Criticism

• The Independent and Screen Daily rate it around 60/100, criticizing it as slickly directed but ultimately lacking emotional depth or cohesiveness IMDb.

• FirstShowing.net / Alex Billington offers one of the harshest takes: calling it “cringe trash,” a “Saturday Night TV movie,” and “belong[ing] in the dumpster” while acknowledging a few redeeming moments (“Jeffrey Wright… the only one actually trying”)