Overview

• The film is now playing in select theaters via A24 and Apple Original Films, with streaming set for Apple TV+ on September 5.
• Critics commend Spike Lee’s direction and Denzel Washington’s commanding turn while noting uneven pacing and variable emotional depth.
• The story reinterprets Akira Kurosawa’s High and Low (from Ed McBain’s King’s Ransom), centering on a music mogul facing a $17.5 million ransom tied to a kidnapping mistake.
• Reviews single out Matthew Libatique’s cinematography, an opulent score, sharp sound design, and a showpiece New York chase sequence as technical standouts.
• A$AP Rocky earns notice as the principal antagonist, with Jeffrey Wright among the supporting cast and a brief Ice Spice appearance drawing attention.