Denzel and A$AP Rocky face city-wide showdown in Spike Lee’s Kurosawa-inspired thriller

Denzel Washington returns to action in Spike Lee's new crime epic, where ransom, power, and revenge collide in NYC.

Spike Lee and Denzel Washington are reuniting after nearly two decades, and their latest collaboration is anything but quiet. Highest 2 Lowest, the new film from Apple and A24, sees the acclaimed duo return with a Kurosawa-inspired crime thriller set against the gritty chaos of present-day New York City. The film, which debuted out of competition at Cannes, hits cinemas August 15 before streaming on Apple TV+ from September 5.

The story reimagines Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 classic High and Low, this time through the lens of a modern music industry tycoon. Denzel Washington stars as a powerful mogul whose world is thrown into crisis after a kidnapping gone wrong leads to an explosive spiral of extortion, violence, and moral reckoning.

Joining him is A$AP Rocky, whose role has already sparked praise from Lee, who called the rapper “underrated and committed.” The cast also features Jeffrey Wright, Ice Spice, Ilfenesh Hadera, and Dean Winters, creating a uniquely high-stakes ensemble for this noir revival.

This marks the fifth and possibly final collaboration between Lee and Washington, a detail the director hinted at during the film’s press rounds. “This is it, five,” Lee said, calling Highest 2 Lowest a culmination of their creative journey.

Shot with Lee’s signature visual punch and set to a pulsing urban score, the film brings class tensions, cultural fault lines, and personal sacrifice into a single narrative thread. From red carpets to ransom calls, this is a story where the stakes are financial, emotional, and deeply human.

Behind the camera, the film was co-written by Alan Fox and Lee, with production from Escape Artists, Mandalay Pictures, and 40 Acres and a Mule. Executive producers include Katia Washington, Peter Guber, and Matthew Lindner, among others.

Expect a sleek, stylised showdown when Highest 2 Lowest drops, one that pushes Lee’s legacy and Washington’s gravitas into bold, uncharted territory.