---
title: "By Any Means"
year: 2026
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/by-any-means"
fi1m_id: "by-any-means"
imdb_id: "tt34379051"
tmdb_id: 1380417
wikidata_id: "Q133864224"
fi1m_score: 52
critics_score: 42
critics_reviews: 7
published: "2026-09-14"
updated: "2026-09-18T08:38:23.505443+00:00"
region: "CL"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# By Any Means (2026)

Directed by Elegance Bratton · 1h 47m · History, Crime, Drama

## Identity

By Any Means

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/by-any-means
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** by-any-means
- **IMDb ID:** tt34379051
- **TMDB ID:** 1380417
- **Wikidata ID:** Q133864224
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt34379051/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/1380417, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q133864224

**Fi1m score: 52** · Critics 42 from 7 reviews

*In a sentence:* The FBI calls in the mob and gets more Mark Wahlberg than it bargained for

> Elegance Bratton’s crime drama gives Yahya Abdul-Mateen II a compromised partnership worth exploring, then lets Mark Wahlberg’s excesses dominate it. The occasional jolt cannot compensate for thin characters and a reluctance to question the violence.

## Synopsis

The FBI cannot solve a murder, so it turns to the mob for help. The arrangement brings law enforcement into partnership with people whose methods sit outside it, making the pursuit of justice a question of how far the authorities are prepared to go. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II plays Wayne Strider, with Mark Wahlberg as Gregory Scarpa and Nicole Beharie as Allison Strider. Directed by Elegance Bratton and written by Sascha Penn, this crime drama also features Josh Lucas as Special Agent Everett Rhodes and David Strathairn as Special Agent Roy K. Moore.

## Review

The FBI cannot solve a murder, so it calls in the mob: *By Any Means* has a premise that ought to make a crime drama uncomfortable. Elegance Bratton finds some tension in that arrangement, but the film is too pleased with the opportunities it offers for forceful men to get things done. There are effective bursts of thriller business and a performance from Yahya Abdul-Mateen II worth watching. We would not recommend the whole film on their account.

Sascha Penn’s script sets up a question with practical consequences: what happens to an investigation when the authorities employ the methods they are supposed to oppose? It need not stop for a lecture, and nobody needs a scene in which a character explains that violence is complicated. But the people making this bargain need motives that develop beyond the requirements of the next confrontation. Penn gives us too little reason to think about them once the immediate danger has passed.

Abdul-Mateen II, as Wayne Strider, does the most to make the arrangement feel difficult. His restraint allows us to sense thought behind the lines, and he makes a character worth following even when the writing gives him little room to grow. We were frustrated by how often Mark Wahlberg’s Gregory Scarpa pulled our attention away from him. Wahlberg’s emphatic playing makes the pairing lopsided, repeatedly crowding out the quieter work that gives us a reason to care about this investigation.

Wahlberg does bring a blunt comic energy, and there are stretches where the mismatch between the two leads supplies the entertainment the script is after. A historical crime drama is allowed to be funny, just as it is allowed to provide the satisfaction of watching someone dangerous meet resistance. The problem is how little Bratton asks us to reconsider after that satisfaction arrives. The familiar rhythm of a mismatched-partner thriller makes it too easy to anticipate what sort of scene the film will want next.

Ante Cheng’s cinematography and Kristan Sprague’s editing are most effective when the film needs an immediate threat rather than a complicated conversation. The violent passages have enough force to make the film briefly gripping, and the cutting keeps those encounters from becoming a slog. Yet that efficiency also makes the shortcut attractive: another confrontation can replace a scene that might have explored the partnership. At 107 minutes, the film is not overlong, but its priorities remain frustratingly narrow.

Terence Blanchard’s music encourages us to take the men’s choices seriously, more seriously than Penn’s writing sometimes permits. Tommy Love’s production design helps the setting feel inhabited, although the people in it are too often defined by what the next scene needs them to do. Neither contribution can compensate for characters whose decisions become so predictable. We keep waiting for Bratton to stay with a doubt or a consequence instead of arranging another opportunity for someone to take charge.

The buddy-crime formula can accommodate difficult questions without sacrificing pace or entertainment. Here, too much depends on Abdul-Mateen II supplying the interest that the partnership itself ought to generate, and his performance is the strongest reason to persist. Anyone drawn by the FBI-and-mob premise should be prepared for a film considerably less curious about that bargain than we were.

*Fi1m score 52, published 14 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

Most critics are unconvinced. Bratton’s 1966 Mississippi thriller, which pairs a Black FBI agent with a mob hitman against the Klan, is found to reach for the weight of civil rights history and settle for buddy-cop beats and spectacle. Where praise gathers, it gathers around Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, whom several reviews single out as the steadier presence, and a few concede that the violence delivers rough, crowd-pleasing thrills.

The reservations cluster on two points: Mark Wahlberg’s performance, called hammy, unconvincing or surface-level by most, and a script that raises questions about when brutality is justified and then loses interest in them. The spread is narrow, with most reviews sitting in mixed-to-negative territory. The one clear dissent is The Wrap, which finds an uneven but durable crime drama that works as both history and thriller. The New Yorker is the most divided, calling it often stirring and often infuriating.

## Straight answers

**Is By Any Means worth watching?**

*By Any Means* is not a film we can recommend as a whole, and we scored it 52. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II gives a restrained, watchable performance, and the violent passages are briefly gripping, but Mark Wahlberg's emphatic playing crowds him out and the script never asks hard questions about its FBI-and-mob bargain. Persist only if the premise or the lead appeals.

**How long is By Any Means, and what is it rated?**

*By Any Means* runs 1h 47m. It is a history and crime film.

**Where can I watch By Any Means in Chile?**

*By Any Means* is not on any streaming or rental service in Chile at the moment. It is available in 1 other country; change your country at the top of the page to see where. Availability is checked daily.

**How violent or frightening is By Any Means, and is it suitable for children?**

*By Any Means* is a violent crime drama rated R in the United States, with no UK certificate at the time of writing. The film contains several forceful, fast-cut confrontations between federal agents and mobsters, staged for immediate threat rather than dread, and it does not pause to question the violence. It is not suitable for children, and the squeamish should expect blunt bursts of brutality rather than sustained menace.

**How does By Any Means compare to In the Heat of the Night?**

[*In the Heat of the Night*](https://film.one/film/in-the-heat-of-the-night) is the better film, and the one we recommend beside *By Any Means*. Both follow an uneasy partnership through a murder investigation, but Norman Jewison's film lets Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger play people rather than positions, while Bratton's partners are defined by what the next scene needs. Choose the earlier film for character; choose *By Any Means* only for its occasional jolts.

**What should I watch after By Any Means?**

After *By Any Means*, try [*In the Heat of the Night*](https://film.one/film/in-the-heat-of-the-night) (1967, Fi1m 85): A murder investigation makes racial hostility impossible for its uneasy partners to ignore. Then [*Memories of Murder*](https://film.one/film/memories-of-murder) (2003, Fi1m 91): Failed police work and brutality become inseparable in this grimly funny investigation; and [*Deep Cover*](https://film.one/film/deep-cover) (1992, Fi1m 72): An undercover assignment gives compromised police work the character development it needs.

### Reviews we read (7)

- **The AV Club**, Monica Castillo (C-): The Civil Rights-era thriller has potential in its premise of an FBI agent teaming with a violent enforcer against Klansmen, but it loses interest in moral questions and leans into spectacle and tired script beats. Wahlberg’s hammy performance overshadows stronger work from Abdul-Mateen II. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/by-any-means-review)
- **The New Yorker**, Richard Brody (50/100, inferred): The film is often stirring but often infuriating, shaping a Machiavellian worldview as an action movie with types rather than fully realized lives. It honors the struggles it dramatizes at its best moments but relies on convenient plot devices. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-front-row/the-principled-cynicism-of-by-any-means)
- **Vulture** (40/100, inferred): The film pairs a Black FBI agent with a mob hitman in a messy, Green Book-adjacent story about violence in the civil rights era, but Wahlberg’s unconvincing performance and the script’s failure to develop its characters undermine any deeper exploration. It amounts to an uneasy argument for brutality when convenient. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/article/mark-wahlberg-wishes-he-were-unrecognizable-in-by-any-means.html)
- **IndieWire**, Christian Zilko (30/100, inferred): Bratton turns tragic American history into classic buddy-cop tropes with Mark Wahlberg and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. The film selectively blends true events into entertaining popcorn fare but struggles with its moral and historical weight. [Read](https://www.indiewire.com/2026/09/by-any-means-review/)
- **The Hollywood Reporter**, Angie Han (30/100, inferred): The film pairs a Black FBI agent with a mob hitman in 1966 Mississippi for an uneasy alliance against Klan violence, but familiar thriller beats clash awkwardly with the historical premise. It delivers occasional nasty thrills and strong performances from Abdul-Mateen II but remains shallow overall. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/by-any-means-review-mark-wahlberg-yahya-abdul-mateen-ii-1236687106/)
- **The New York Times**, Ben Kenigsberg (30/100, inferred): The film is caught between earnestness and exploitation as a civil rights picture. Wahlberg as the mafia hitman provides crowd-pleasing revenge violence and fish-out-of-water humor. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/03/movies/by-any-means-review.html)
- **The Wrap** (70/100, inferred): The critic finds the film an uneven but durable crime drama that works as a historical drama and buddy cop thriller, praising Yahya Abdul-Mateen II's standout performance while noting Wahlberg's more surface-level acting and some unfulfilling elements in the climax. [Read](https://www.thewrap.com/creative-content/movies/by-any-means-review-yahya-abdul-mateen-ii-mark-wahlberg/)

## Details

- **Director:** Elegance Bratton
- **Director:** Elegance Bratton
- **Writer:** Sascha Penn
- **Cinematography:** Ante Cheng
- **Editor:** Kristan Sprague
- **Music:** Terence Blanchard
- **Production design:** Tommy Love
- **Costume design:** Derica Cole Washington
- **Producer:** Alex Lebovici, Basil Iwanyk, Erica Lee
- **Cast:** Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Wayne Strider; Mark Wahlberg as Gregory Scarpa; Nicole Beharie as Allison Strider; Josh Lucas as Special Agent Everett Rhodes; David Strathairn as Special Agent Roy K. Moore; Giancarlo Esposito as Vernon Dahmer; Ethan Embry as Sam Bowers; LisaGay Hamilton as Ms. Rebecca Brewer
- **Runtime:** 1h 47m
- **First release (Belgium):** 2 September 2026
- **Genres:** History, Crime, Drama
- **Budget:** $30 million
- **Box office:** $9 million
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvnyrBnUx4E

## Where to watch in Chile

Not streaming, renting or buying in Chile at the last check.

Also available in: US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## If you liked this

- *In the Heat of the Night* (1967), Fi1m 85: A murder investigation makes racial hostility impossible for its uneasy partners to ignore. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/in-the-heat-of-the-night.md)
- *The Offence* (1973): A police interrogation forces a harder examination of violence and professional authority.
- *Memories of Murder* (2003), Fi1m 91: Failed police work and brutality become inseparable in this grimly funny investigation. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/memories-of-murder.md)
- *Deep Cover* (1992), Fi1m 72: An undercover assignment gives compromised police work the character development it needs. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/deep-cover.md)
- *The Secret in Their Eyes* (2009), Fi1m 78: A murder investigation tests loyalties and exposes the limits of official justice. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-secret-in-their-eyes.md)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/by-any-means