Prepare to dive into a tense, electrifying world where power, loyalty, and desperation collide. Highest 2 Lowest, Spike Lee’s bold reimagining of Akira Kurosawa’s timeless classic, promises a gripping journey through the shadows of New York City’s high-stakes underbelly. The film marks the fifth collaboration between Lee and Denzel Washington, following their previous successes like Inside Man (2006) and Malcolm X (1992). The 2025 crime thriller brings Denzel back to the big screen a year after he delivered a commanding villain performance in Gladiator II. This time, he’s back in his usual protagonist role, playing a music tycoon named David King
The trailer is set to James Brown’s “The Payback,” where Washington delivers a hard-hitting monologue on the duality of fame, hinting at the film’s deeper themes. The teaser offers a rapid-fire glimpse into the tense atmosphere of the film, featuring Washington in a powerful role as a music mogul entangled in a high-stakes ransom plot. The visuals include NYPD operations, ransom exchanges, and a potential kidnapping storyline involving characters played by Jeffrey Wright and Bryshere Y. Gray. The teaser is rich with symbolic imagery like a negative photo of the Brooklyn Bridge and scenes set around the Puerto Rican Day Parade, marking Lee’s return to New York-based storytelling after a 13-year hiatus.
Over the visuals, Washington’s character in voiceover says, “There’s more to life than just making money. It’s integrity. There’s what you stand for. It’s what you actually believe in. Do you believe in yourself? Do you believe you’ll be successful? The hard times will come from the good times. The hard times will come from success. The hard times will come from the money. And the mayhem follows. So can you handle the mayhem? Can you handle the money? Can you handle the success? Can you handle the failure? Can you handle the lovers? Can you handle the memes? Can you handle everything that there is in between? That’s the question I have for you: Can you handle it? All money ain’t good money.”
The film also introduces A$AP Rocky as a rapper named Yung Felon and features Ice Spice in her acting debut. The ensemble cast includes Ilfenesh Hadera, Jeffrey Wright, and Dean Winters. Highest 2 Lowest had its world premiere at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival and is scheduled for theatrical release on August 22, 2025, by A24, followed by streaming on Apple TV+ starting September 5, 2025.
Geek Verdict:
Denzel Washington commands the frame with his signature gravitas, while the supporting cast adds layers of intrigue and urgency. This modern retelling of a classic thriller looks poised to captivate audiences when it hits theatres on August 22.
About Highest 2 Lowest
Synopsis: When a powerful music mogul is targeted by a ransom plot, he is forced to fight for his family and legacy while jammed up in a life-or-death moral dilemma.
Genre: Drama • Crime • Mystery • Thriller
Director: Spike Lee
Stars: Denzel Washington • Jeffrey Wright • Ilfenesh Hadera
Runtime: 2 Hours 13 Minutes
Release Date: August 22, 2025 in theatres followed by streaming on Apple TV+ starting September 5, 2025.
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After 28 years in corporate life, I swapped spreadsheets for screenplays and now write movie reviews and celebrity articles for Geekhub. It’s been a year of creative freedom, storytelling, and loving what I do—plus the occasional dramatic reaction to plot twists. No more meetings, just movies—and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
