2 days ago
‘Highest 2 Lowest': Are Rotten Tomatoes Reviews High On Denzel Washington Film?
Highest 2 Lowest —Denzel Washington's latest film with director Spike Lee — is new in theaters this weekend. How are Rotten Tomatoes critics reacting to crime drama?
Rated R, Highest 2 Lowest opens in limited release on Friday. The official summary for the film reads, 'When a titan music mogul (Denzel Washington), widely known as having the 'best ears in the business'' is targeted with a ransom plot, he is jammed up in a life-or-death moral dilemma.
'Brothers Denzel Washington and Spike Lee reunite for the 5th in their long working relationship for a reinterpretation of the great filmmaker Akira Kurosawa's crime thriller High and Low, now played out on the mean streets of modern day New York City.'
Highest 2 Lowest, which staged its world premiere at the 2025 Cannes International Film Festival in May, also stars Jeffrey Wright, A$AP Rocky, Ilfenesh Hadera and Wendell Pierce.
As of Thursday, Rotten Tomatoes critics have collectively given Highest 2 Lowest a 92% 'fresh' rating based on 92 reviews.
The RT Critics Consensus for the film reads, 'Spike Lee and Denzel Washington remix a classic with vibrantly contemporary results in Highest 2 Lowest, a swaggering thriller that lovingly showcases New York City.'
The RT audience summary and Popcornmeter score based on verified user ratings is still pending.
What Are Individual Critics Saying About 'Highest 2 Lowest'?
Steve Pond of The Wrap is among the top critics on RT who gives Highest 2 Lowest a 'fresh' review on RT, writing, 'Highest 2 Lowest is a mixture of gleaming, professional filmmaking and curious choices. It's a showcase for a classic powerhouse, [Denzel] Washington, and an upstart one, A$AP Rocky.'
Robert Daniels of is also high on Highest 2 Lowest, writing in his 'fresh' RT review summary, 'Unabashedly epic, fearlessly funny, and proudly Black, Highest 2 Lowest might derive from a Japanese filmmaker. But its soul clearly resides in [Spike] Lee."
Also alluding to Spike Lee's direction of Highest 2 Lowest in his RT review summary is David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter, who writes, 'The director is in the role of the flashy, panache-y showman here, and he plays it to perfection, delivering a big, highly polished chunk of movie that's pure enjoyment.'
Lindsey Bahr of The Associated Press also gives the film a 'fresh' review on RT, but has some reservations, writing, 'Highest 2 Lowest may not reach the heights of some of Lee's best films, but it's the kind film that makes you hope Lee and Washington have more to make together.'
John Bleasdale of Time Out is one of the two top critics on RT who have given Highest 2 Lowest a 'rotten' rating to date, writing, '[Spike] Lee has made stunningly good crime thrillers – Clockers and 25th Hour – but like his protagonist, here he appears to be struggling to stay relevant and still use his own unique voice.'
Tim Grierson of Screen International is the other top critic on RT who gives Highest 2 Lowest a 'rotten' rating, writing, 'Ultimately, the picture's energetic swirl comes across as slightly hollow, its barrage of themes and impulses never finding harmony.'
Highest 2 Lowest opens in limited release in theaters on Friday.
