‘By Any Means’ – Review
Sometimes in the search for justice, extreme measures are needed. The thin blue line needs to be crossed, and that’s exactly where director Elegance Bratton’s By Any Means takes audiences into the shocking true story of the investigation of a 1966 civil rights assassination that commanded a response for justice that was even more extreme; this is an unbelievable true crime thriller that utterly holds audiences in its taut grip.
A notorious mafia hitman (Mark Wahlberg) and a young African American FBI agent (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) team up to investigate the murders of civil rights leaders in Mississippi in 1966.
A De-Classified History Lesson
Mid-1960s America was a powder keg of social justice, with the Civil Rights movement taking hold as the battle for equal opportunities and protection under the law raged as protestors were caught in the crosshairs of racial hatred in America’s Deep South. With growing violence, sometimes an even harsher form of law enforcement is needed to deliver justice. This is exactly the place that director Elegance Bratton takes audiences with By Any Means, as he presents the now de-classified investigation into the death of Civil Rights leader Vernon Dahmer (Giancarlo Esposito) which was faciliated by untested FBI agent Wayne Strider (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), and bore the presence of violent mob enforcer Gregory ‘The Grim Reaper’ Scarpa (Mark Wahlberg), who the FBI brought in to extract justice by any means necessary, and the result is a picture boiling with intensity, and which hits with the ferocity of a baseball bat on bone.
As a historical portrait, By Any Means unearths the previously hidden, now-revealed cloak-and-dagger history of the FBI under its suspicious and Machiavellian leader, J. Edgar Hoover, and brings it to life with heavy drama and a hell of a wallop. While the darker side of the civil rights movement has been well documented, By Any Means is a distinctive call to arms, urging audiences not to forget the fight for social justice, which, in 2026, is even more pressing. Still, this film also draws attention to how sometimes a different path must be taken to get there. The presence of Strider and Scarpa makes for an arresting and incredibly intense watch of a previously buried side of dark history. With By Any Means, Bratton gets to tell both a story of the fight for civil rights, the dark response necessary when justice failed, and an interesting character study of two unique characters operating on two very different sides of the law, who despite their differences find themselves fighting for a cause bigger than each of them.
A Combustible Double Act
By Any Means might be an explosive true-crime thriller, but its unconventional, wild true story shapes it, and, as a character study and double act, it makes for a very interesting watch. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II once again cements his position as one of the most intriguing rising A-lister talents to watch as he takes on by-the-book and untested FBI Special Agent Wayne Strider, who, returning to the racial boiling point of his home of Mississippi, finds himself drawn into the investigation of Vernon Dahmer’s death and finds his beliefs and ethics tested at every level. Abdul-Mateen II delivers a layered performance as a good man of principle and integrity, who is forced to go to extremes and soon learns that sometimes the gun is the only way to justice. He’s incredibly compelling in the part and matches Wahlberg’s charisma and star power at every level throughout the picture.
As for Hollywood A-lister Mark Wahlberg, he goes to town with his all-swagger and heavy-hitting presence as infamous mafia enforcer and hitman Gregory Scarpa, aka The Grim Reaper. Suspected in more than 60 murders, Scarpa was a fearsome killer and noted FBI informant who was instrumental in providing ‘assistance’ in solving the Murders of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner, is brought in by the FBI once more to help solve Dahmer’s murder, as only he can. And there are no rules where Scarpa walks. The presence of Scarpa gives Wahlberg a definitive character to play. He really steps into the character’s badass, mobbed-up aura and is utterly fearsome and terrifying on screen. In the course of the narrative’s events, he develops a grudging respect for Strider and showcases his own warped sense of justice to close out the case. It’s a winning performance for Wahlberg, and he pulls no punches.
Cracking Skulls and Looking Cool
By Any Means is by no means a PG-rated movie, and audiences had better be prepared for a cinema experience that is utterly skull-cracking; the violence is certainly maxed out with this one. But the violence on screen is all in service of the narrative it serves. For such a savage and violent crime, only justice delivered at the end of a gun is deserved, and there comes a point where the line between Strider and Scarpa no longer exists, and it’s justly deserved and delivered. By Any Means is a film that also drips with 1960s swagger, and it’s one of the coolest and classiest pictures you’re likely to see all year.
Final Verdict: A Worthy and Heavy Fight for Justice
By Any Means delivers an untold dark chapter of the FBI’s secret history to the big screen with intensity and flair. For audiences seeking a solid police procedural with character and bravado, they’ll find it with this one.
Image: Municipal Pictures
