Cannes 2025: First Reactions to Spike Lee’s HIGHEST 2 LOWEST Starring Denzel Washington

Courtesy Apple Studios

The big premieres at this year’s Cannes Film Festival continue today with the arrival of Spike Lee’s HIGHEST 2 LOWEST, which world premieres out of competition and will have a limited theatrical release via A24 on August 22nd, 2025. It’s set to begin streaming on Apple TV+ on September 5th.

Highest 2 Lowest is directed by Spike Lee and written 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. The film stars Denzel Washington, Ilfenesh Hadera, Jeffrey Wright, Ice Spice (In her film debut), and ASAP Rocky.

In the film, when a titan music mogul (Denzel Washington), widely known as having the “best ears in the business”, is targeted with a ransom plot, he is jammed up in a life-or-death moral dilemma.

Check out the film’s official teaser trailer and the first reactions out of Cannes below:

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'Highest 2 Lowest' Review: Spike Lee's Kurosawa-Inspired Kidnapping Drama Isn’t So Much a Remake as a Manifesto https://t.co/SduNw0Ce9h

— Variety (@Variety) May 19, 2025

‘Highest 2 Lowest’ Review: Denzel Washington and Spike Lee Reunite in Dazzling Thriller Suffused With Lush New York City Vibes https://t.co/IOlwy6RzDk

— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) May 19, 2025

‘Highest 2 Lowest’ Review: Denzel Washington Finds A Great Role And A$AP Rocky Finds A New Career In Spike Lee’s Entertaining Kidnap Drama – Cannes Film Festival https://t.co/MC6UHASTO1

— Deadline (@DEADLINE) May 19, 2025

'Highest 2 Lowest' #Cannes Review: Spike Lee reteams with Denzel Washington for ambitious crime thriller. By @TimGrierson https://t.co/X4UOZk4Pq4

— Screen International (@Screendaily) May 19, 2025

Highest 2 Lowest: Spike Lee delivers a fun — if jarringly upbeat — reinterpretation of one of Akira Kurosawa's most despairing films. can't remember if the scene where a guy screams BOSTON SUCKS! directly into the camera was in the original tho

my review: https://t.co/8yDXxEf2OK pic.twitter.com/7WYSEU8wIN

— david ehrlich (@davidehrlich) May 19, 2025

A one-note Denzel Washington in Spike Lee’s generic Highest 2 Lowest – Cannes review https://t.co/C95CCpL9N0

— The Independent (@Independent) May 19, 2025

I cannot hype enough what a blast Denzel Washington is having in Spike Lee’s Highest 2 Lowest. We really cannot wait another 20 years for them to collaborate again (yes, I know) My review from #Cannes https://t.co/XPQIDYGYfC

— Gregory Ellwood - The Playlist 🎬 (@TheGregoryE) May 19, 2025

HIGHEST 2 LOWEST: A fantastic mess. Thunderous confrontations between Denzel and A$AP Rocky. Very funny work from Jeffrey Wright and Dean Winters. A mid-film chase that doubles as an I ❤️ NYC ad. But also a first-draft script, and an overwhelmingly overwrought score that had me climbing wall #Cannes

— Barry Hertz (@hertzbarry.bsky.social) May 19, 2025 at 4:14 PM

Highest 2 Lowest review – Spike Lee and Denzel Washington remake Kurosawa in fine style

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— Unofficial Guardian (UK) Bot (@guardian-uk-rss.bsky.social) May 19, 2025 at 3:54 PM

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