Spike Lee and Denzel Washington are reteaming for the first time in ages for a remake of a stone cold Kurosawa classic, and if that doesn’t get your motor running you’re in the wrong place.
How to watch Highest 2 Lowest in New Zealand
Highest 2 Lowest is streaming in New Zealand exclusively on Apple TV+ from September 6, 2025.
What is Highest 2 Lowest about?
Based on Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 post-war class-themed thriller High and Low, which was itself inspired by Ed McBain’s 1959 novel, King’s Ransom, Highest 2 Lowest sees Washington as music mogul David King. In the middle of a high stakes deal that will see him regain control of his record label, King’s world is upended when his son is kidnapped for a a massive ransom.
Obviously, the money earmarked for his business deal will have to be diverted to this more pressing matter. However, when it eventuates that the kidnapper accidentally grabbed Kyle, the son of King’s driver, by mistake…well, that leads to a bit of soul searching re: the relative value of a life.
The cast of Highest 2 Lowest
Denzel Washington is David King; Jeffrey Wright is Paul Christopher, his right hand man and driver; Ilfenesh Hadera is Pam King, David’ss wife; ASAP Rocky is rapper Yung Felon; Ice Spice is Marisol Cepeda; Frederick Weller is Alex Cordova; Dean Winters is Detective Higgins; with John Douglas Thompson, LaChanze, Aubrey Joseph, Michael Potts, Princess Nokia, Wendell Pierce, Elijah Wright, Nicholas Turturro, Jensen McRae, Andy McQueen, and Aiyana-Lee rounding out the ensemble cast.
Highest 2 Lowest trailer
Why we’re excited about Highest 2 Lowest
This is the first time Denzel Washington and Spike Lee have worked together since 2006’s Inside Man and marks their fifth collaboration together. That alone should be enough to get your adrenaline up. That they’re adapting one of Akira Kurosawa’s finest works, with Washington stepping into the role once played by Toshiro Mifune, is just icing on the cake.
