‘Highest 2 Lowest' Trailer: Spike Lee's Latest Joint Is an Entertaining Homage to Akira Kurosawa
From writer/director Spike Lee, 'Highest 2 Lowest' has released its official theatrical trailer. The movie is the fifth collaboration between Lee and Oscar-winning star Denzel Washington. It is, as IndieWire's own David Ehrlich described it, a 'jarringly upbeat' and 'deliriously entertaining' homage to Akira Kurosawa's bleak 1963 classic 'High and Low.'
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A$AP Rocky — whose real name is Rakim Mayers — co-stars, thanks largely to Lee scrolling, as we all do, on Instagram. 'What's funny is that I was looking at Instagram four or five years ago and people were saying that A$AP looked like he's Denzel's son,' Lee told Carmelo Anthony in April. 'I seen those memes and then in the film we used that.'
Lee went on to praise Rocky — who also laid down a track teased in the trailer for the film — saying 'A$AP, man, he fire… I mean, there's some scenes where him and D head to head – he ain't backing up. Like, 'I'm here too.' So very, very happy with the way the film turned out and looking forward to sharing it with the world.'
Ehrlich agreed in his review, writing that Rocky was 'just as good here as he is in recent Sundance highlight 'If I Had Legs I'd Kick You.'' Ehrlich also detailed the plot, writing that the 'protagonist is forced into a compromising position on the eve of a critical business deal when a downtrodden kidnapper mistakes his driver's son for his own kid, Trey (Aubrey Joseph). And once again [as in 'High and Low'], all the money in the world can't save him from paying a price for his greed.'
'Highest 2 Lowest' already has big name fans, too, including director Martin Scorsese, who Lee related through an Instagram post heaped high praise on the film. Actually, he wrote that Scorsese 'gushed' about virtually every aspect of the movie, including Washington's performance, the editing, cinematography, and, of course, Lee's direction. 'Marty Was So Happy For Me,' Lee said.
'Highest 2 Lowest' is the first Lee joint since 2020's 'Da 5 Bloods,' which was distributed by Netflix during the pandemic. His previous film, 'BlackKkKlansman,' brought Lee a long-awaited Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.
'Highest 2 Lowest' hits theaters everywhere on August 22 before streaming on Apple TV+ September 5. Watch the trailer below.
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