Democracy Dies in Darkness

‘Highest 2 Lowest’ is Spike Lee’s love letter to Kurosawa and NYC

Denzel Washington stars in a fast, funky thriller of a remake.

6 min
Denzel Washington in “Highest 2 Lowest.” (David Lee/David Lee/Apple TV+)
Review by
(3 stars)

You expect a measure (or three) of idiosyncrasy from a Spike Lee movie; few major filmmakers follow their muse with such ornery dedication. So if “Highest 2 Lowest” is Lee’s most ambitious and expansive work in some time, the movie also plays defiantly on the director’s own terms. We have to come to Spike, not the other way around, but when he’s accompanied by Denzel Washington — the duo’s fifth big-screen collaboration in 35 years — attention must be paid.

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