This review was originally published on May 20, 2025, as part of our Cannes Film Festival coverage.

In adapting Akira Kurosawa’s High and Low , Spike Lee somehow crafts his most fun film in years even though, at its center, the film is about a greedy, ego-driven music executive who gets wrapped up in a violent kidnapping plot. Kurosawa’s High and Low elegantly captures Japan’s post-war anxieties, but with Highest 2 Lowest , Lee uses the modern music industry to critique America’s capitalist grindset and toxic celebrity culture.

Denzel Washington stars as David King, a co-owner of Stackin’ Hits Records, which had its heyday in the early 2000s but whose impact has waned in the era of attention economy and TikTok soundbites. On the eve of a major business deal, David’s son Trey is

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