By Any Means (2026)
Directed by: Elegance Bratton
Premise: Set in 1966, a Black FBI agent (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) is assigned to accompany mob hitman Greg Scarpa (Mark Wahlberg) as they investigate the murder of Mississippi civil rights leader Vernon Dahmer (Giancarlo Esposito).
What Works: By Any Means is rooted in history. Vernon Dahmer was a real civil rights leader who was killed by the Ku Klux Klan and Greg Scarpa was indeed a mob hitman and an FBI informant who probably had some involvement in investigating Dahmer’s murder as well as the 1964 murder of civil rights workers Andrew Goodman, James Chaney and Michael Schwerner. This is an aspect of the civil rights era that hasn’t been explored in Hollywood films and By Any Means is unique in that respect. Mainstream Hollywood dramas such as Selma, 42, Loving, and Boycott have taken a respectful and somber tone while showing reverence for nonviolent protests. By Any Means has an entirely different aesthetic. It’s brutally violent and probes the limits of pacifism and respectability especially in the face of deadly racial terrorism backed by local law enforcement.
What Doesn’t: Unfortunately, By Any Means doesn’t treat any of its political or moral implications with any depth or thoughtfulness. The filmmakers assemble a really interesting scenario. A Black FBI agent without much field experience but who holds a firm belief in law and order is paired with a mob hitman who is content to torture and murder his way to the truth. Conflict brews between them but not in a way that is interesting. The Black community has a complicated relationship with law enforcement and the FBI under J. Edgar Hoover actively labored to undermine the civil rights movement. By Any Means doesn’t acknowledge any of that which is not only a historical failing but also a contemporary one; this movie is poised to comment upon contemporary anxieties about race relations and law enforcement. Instead, By Any Means uses its historical setting as the mere background for a standard shoot-’em-up movie. The torture scenes are grueling with Wahlberg’s character maiming and beating people within an inch of their life. There’s not much point to any of it. Taken as a straightforward action film, By Any Means is not particularly interesting or exciting. It’s a slog to sit through. Stories like this are about justifying the hero’s cause so the audience can enjoy the violence. By Any Means never gets there. There’s no sense that justice has been meted out. Even if the lack of catharsis was supposed to be the point—which it isn’t—the filmmakers don’t do anything with that idea.
Bottom Line: By Any Means could be a subversive picture if it had any brains. Instead. this is a standard Mark Wahlberg crime picture with an unpleasantly brutal tone.
Episode: #1116 (September 13, 2026)