"By Any Means" Review: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Mark Wahlberg Power a Flawed Throwback Thriller

Director Elegance Bratton shifts gears from heavy drama to inspiration in his latest film, “By Any Means,” from Paramount Pictures. Sascha Penn, known for his work on the television franchise Power, pens the screenplay, and together they approach a dark chapter of American history through the unlikely framework of a bruising buddy thriller.

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II stars as Wayne Strider, a Black FBI agent sent to Mississippi to investigate the murder of civil rights leader Vernon Dahmer (Giancarlo Esposito). His uneasy partner is Vincent Scarpa (Mark Wahlberg), a Mafia hitman and FBI informant whose methods sit somewhere between intimidation and outright mayhem.

While his character is fictional, Abdul-Mateen gives Strider a controlled, watchful presence. He knows his badge carries limited protection in the Jim Crow South, and the actor lets that danger live beneath nearly every interaction. Wahlberg goes bigger as Scarpa, leaning into the character’s bluntness, humor, and volatility. What keeps the pairing interesting is that neither man converts the other. Strider believes procedure matters; Scarpa believes results matter more. Their growing respect comes through conflict rather than sentimental bonding.

Bratton keeps things moving with sharp compositions, bursts of violence, and enough visual swagger to make the movie play like pulp without losing sight of the ugliness underneath. Penn’s script is strongest when Strider and Scarpa argue about race, justice, power, and whether violent men can ever serve a righteous cause.

The frustration is that the film contains enough material for something larger. Given Penn’s writing style on “Power”, “By Any Means” almost feels like a limited series compressed into a feature. Lisa Gay Hamilton, Nicole Beharie, Josh Lucas, and David Strathairn are talented enough to suggest deeper characters, yet too often they are reduced to caricatures or narrative functions. Ethan Embry, as Sam Bowers, co-founder of the White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, also gets too little screen time to give the antagonist the gravity the role demands.

That limitation becomes especially noticeable with Vernon Dahmer. Esposito delivers what amounts to an extended cameo, which might leave audience members wanting more. He brings immediate dignity and moral weight to the role, but the film is more focused on the volatile partnership between Strider and Scarpa than on thoroughly examining Dahmer’s significance.

Still, “By Any Means” has momentum, personality, strong period texture, and two leads who understand the assignment. As a throwback buddy flick, the film works, but as a deeper look into Vernon Dahmer and his legacy, it falls short.

Final Grade: B-

“By Any Means” is in theaters now.