Denzel Washington & A$AP Rocky for Spike Lee’s Upcoming Film, “Highest 2 Lowest” – Hitting Theaters this Week
The trailer for Spike Lee’s latest joint is in – featuring A$AP Rocky in his biggest role yet, starring opposite Denzel Washington, in what may be the final partnership between Spike and Denzel.
”A Reinterpretation— Not a Remake”
“Highest 2 Lowest” is Lee’s 25th feature film, marking the fifth collaboration between him and Washington and their first film together in almost 20 years. The movie is a reimagining of the 1963 Japanese crime-thriller directed by Akira Kurosawa called “High and Low,” but Lee insists that “Highest 2 Lowest” is “a reinterpretation – not a remake.”
In Kurosawa’s version, “High and Low” follows the high-level executive of a shoe company as he winds up the victim of an extortion attempt – except his chauffeur’s son is mistakenly kidnapped instead of his own. Lee’s modern-day retelling adapts this plot line, but twists the script a bit – in “Highest 2 Lowest,” Denzel stars as David King, a powerful NYC music mogul whose son is allegedly kidnapped by an ambitious criminal named Yung Felon (A$AP Rocky). Felon demands $17.5 million to be delivered to him in an all-black Jordan backpack (he’s very specific about this), not realizing that he accidentally kidnapped the son of King’s driver and close friend (Jeffrey Wright) by mistake. A$AP Rocky also has two new original songs that will feature in the film, alongside an ensemble of prolific artists rounding out the movie’s soundtrack.
Rocky’s Biggest Role To Date
Though this isn’t Rocky’s first appearance on the big screen, it will be his biggest role to date. Rocky has been dedicated to the acting craft for over a decade now, ever since his debut in the critically acclaimed 2015 movie “Dope.” Since then, he’s had several small roles in various films, but, as the antagonist of “Highest 2 Lowest,” Rocky is getting his long overdue ‘big break’ as an actor. Most musicians-turned-actors are unable to achieve the same level of success in front of the camera as in front of the mic, but not A$AP Rocky. Spike Lee even praised Rocky’s acting chops in a recent interview, saying, “Don’t sleep on A$AP… A lot of times when [Denzel is] in a scene with somebody, they just get overwhelmed. He’s one of the greatest living actors today, but A$AP wasn’t having that.”
Denzel Hinting at Retirement
It’s no secret that Denzel’s been considering stepping away from the big-screen, repeatedly hinting at retirement being somewhere on the horizon. During the “Highest 2 Lowest” premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, Lee acknowledged this, reflectively remarking, “I think this is it. He’s been talking about retirement. But five films together: that’s good, they stand up.” If “Highest 2 Lowest” is anything like the previous four, it will certainly be a contender for one of the best movies of the year.
“Highest 2 Lowest” hits theaters this Friday, and will be quickly followed by a streaming release to Apple TV+ on September 5th.
