"Highest 2 Lowest" Trailer: Denzel Washington Plays a New York Mogul Tested by a Father’s Worst Nightmare in Spike Lee’s Ransom Thriller
Denzel reunites with Spike Lee, playing a New York music mogul whose empire is shaken when his son is kidnapped in this hip-hop-infused reimagining of Kurosawa’s classic High and Low.
Frank Sinatra once sang the famous lyrics in the Theme from New York, New York:
If I can make it there, I'll make it anywhere
It's up to you, New York, New York.
The meaning of this sentiment is that New York City represents the ultimate test of success, resilience, and ambition. If someone can somehow achieve their dreams in such a competitive, fast-paced, and often unforgiving environment, then they possess the talent, grit, and determination to succeed anywhere else in the world.
But what happens if and when you do make it to the top? Well, success takes on a whole new perspective. The goal changes. It's not about striving to win, it's now about maintaining your crown on the throne. And if you have the good fortune to make it in New York... well, you have the fortune that everyone else is chasing.
So the question becomes: what is success if not to protect those you love? What is success if not to safeguard the people, values, and dreams that brought you there in the first place? In the end, success isn’t just about making it big—it’s about holding onto your integrity, your relationships, and your purpose while standing at the top of the world’s toughest stage.
Denzel Washington faces such a dilemma in his latest film, playing a highly successful New York music mogul whose son is kidnapped by someone demanding $17.5 million for his safe return.
Pay the money. Save his son. Sounds easy, right?
But what about the ramifications?
What if paying the ransom means compromising everything he built—his reputation, his credibility, even the safety of others in his circle? As the hours tick by and the pressure mounts, he's forced to weigh the value of his success against the priceless weight of family. Is he a father first, or a mogul who can’t be seen as a vulnerable target for the next predator?
Highest 2 Lowest is the latest Spike Lee joint, marking the Oscar-winning filmmaker's fifth collaboration with Denzel, following 2006's Inside Man—their last film together nearly two decades ago.
And from the looks of this new full-length trailer, their reunion might have been worth the wait. This seems to be another explosive thriller that teeters on the moral complexity of a man torn between public power and private pain. It asks: what are you willing to risk when everything you've earned is suddenly on the line? And maybe more importantly... who are you without it?
Written by Alan Fox, the film is a modern-day remake of Akira Kurosawa's 1963 black-and-white noir classic High and Low, a film considered one of Kurosawa's masterpieces as it explores themes of justice and revenge. The original is widely regarded for its bleak examination of social inequality between the privileged and the underprivileged, centered on a wealthy executive (played by Japanese screen legend Toshiro Mifune) facing an impossible ransom demand.
Spike Lee's Highest 2 Lowest appears to take inspiration from the same existential dilemma. The original posed the idea of the illusion of control: Mifune's character is a self-made man who always believed he had control over his life and career, but the kidnapping completely shatters that belief. Denzel's David King might be feeling the same way as someone who appears to have come up from the streets, started with nothing, and built an empire on his own terms. So, the thought of losing it all might be too much for him to bear, even when family is on the line.
Highest 2 Lowest had its world premiere back in May at the Cannes Film Festival, where it was met with mostly positive reviews—though some critics noted the film’s uneven tone. Still, cinematographer Matthew Libatique’s vibrant capture of New York City was widely praised as one of the film’s standout elements.
Infused with a hip-hop aesthetic, rapper A$AP Rocky not only provides the film with original music but also co-stars as the antagonist—a kidnapper who has taken Denzel’s son for ransom.
The rest of the cast includes Jeffrey Wright, Aubrey Joseph, Ilfenesh Hadera, Dean Winters, Wendell Pierce, Michael Potts, and rapper Ice Spice.
Highest 2 Lowest is a co-production between A24 and Apple TV, and is set to open in theaters on August 15th before streaming exclusively on Apple TV+ September 5th.
Official Synopsis:
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. Brothers Denzel Washington and Spike Lee reunite for the fifth time in their long working relationship for a reinterpretation of the great filmmaker Akira Kurosawa’s crime thriller “High and Low,” now played out on the mean streets of modern day New York City.
