Highest 2 Lowest Review
Highest 2 Lowest (2025) Film Review, a movie directed by Spike Lee, written by Evan Hunter, Akira Kurosawa and Hideo Oguni and starring Denzel Washington, Jeffrey Wright, Ilfenesh Hadera, A$AP Rocky, Aubrey Joseph, Elijah Wright, Rick Fox, Imana Breaux, Andy McQueen, Ice Spice, Sunni Valentine, Frederick Weller and Michael Potts.
Spike Lee is a filmmaker’s filmmaker and, once again, he does right by his fellow New York audience in his latest effort featuring Denzel Washington, Highest 2 Lowest. This film will also play beyond the Big Apple with its clever plot and excellent set pieces that drive the story line in ways that will have audiences cringing, laughing and cheering all the way through. Inspired by a work from Akira Kurosawa, but peppered with Lee’s New York flavor, the film features Washington in the principal role of David King, a well-to-do man who needs to keep a business, Stackin’ Hits Records, afloat. That becomes difficult when a kidnapping goes awry in which the culprit demands ransom money that will jeopardize David’s future career goals.
Jeffrey Wright co-stars as Paul Christopher, the man whose son gets kidnapped. Paul’s kid may have the power to identify the kidnapper when he’s returned to safety, but before we get to that point in the plot, Lee treats his audience to a slow-burn/eventual roller coaster ride that will keep audiences entertained from opening to close.
Ilfenesh Hadera serves as Pam King, David’s significant other. Hadera keeps her role relevant throughout the movie and adds energetic aspects to her performance which makes her shine beside Denzel Washington throughout. Pam’s bracelet gets targeted by the kidnapper at one point and is put alongside the loot in a bag that David must take on a train which goes through the Boogie Down Bronx with crazed New York Yankees fans stirring up trouble on the train while ripping the Boston Red Sox a new bottom in the interim.
This film sets what are, hands down, its most exciting scenes around the train ride through the Bronx. Though the funniest parts involve the Puerto Rican parade interspersed in the action, the movie has the cops going through side streets chasing the bag of cash as it goes from person to person on different motorcycles through the streets. This is a set piece that rivals anything the greats have done. Scorsese and Spielberg have created good action scenes, but Lee rivals their best work with the sequence where the money goes through several hands until the bag is located with a bunch of tampons in it replacing the loot. The editing is tight and the experience is exhilarating with the backdrop of the parade’s musical performances in the background.
Lee is careful to set up his story line slowly before getting to the bulk of the action. This makes the movie feel more substantial as it sets up the stakes and the consequences of the characters’ actions. Tossed into the mix is A$AP Rocky as a rapper known as Yung Felon who idolizes David which leads David to make key discoveries as the plot progresses. Watch for the scene where David goes to Yung Felon’s girlfriend’s apartment and the apartment number is A24, the studio behind the film! Talk about clever touches.
Wright commands attention in what could have been a smaller role in a lesser film and the actor offers comic relief to the story as well as Paul asks the authorities to let his son relax when he is rescued from being kidnapped and ends up at the local hospital recovering and being asked a million questions by the cops. A$AP Rocky is terrific too and sets up a dynamic between his character and Washington’s character which keeps the audience riveted whenever they appear on-screen together.
Spike Lee is, and has always been, the quintessential New York filmmaker. Nobody has New York in his bones like Lee and the attention to detail and his love for the city is interspersed in Highest 2 Lowest at its strongest points. Lee goes buck wild with some hilarious scenes during the parade, in particular, and Washington meets him half way by giving an impressive and oddly humorous performance that is one of his best recent turns. David is at wits’ end as the ante is upped when he loses the ransom money. Washington lets go with some hilarious facial expressions that need to be seen to be appreciated.
The ending is perfect too. Kudos to the audition that occurs featuring the great Aiyana-Lee Anderson. This movie does it up with class and the last scene is pure genius. It certainly won’t disappoint.
Does Highest 2 Lowest have flaws? Not from an “entertainment value” perspective. From a cinematic standpoint, the movie is expertly constructed in a way that makes it exciting to watch. Lee gets goofy at times, but the audience will enjoy the results immensely. Keep your eye on the jail scene between the kidnapper and David towards the end to see some of Washington’s most creative work. Lee is a filmmaker who knows what has to be done to keep the pacing consistent and the story line relevant. That includes placing photos of famous people in the mix and using notable locations. Highest 2 Lowest is a ride you’ll want to take before summer’s out.
Rating: 8.5/10
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