Some movies are easy to categorize. By Any Means is not one of them. On paper, it sounds like a historical crime drama. It is based on real events and follows FBI agent Wayne Strider, played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, as he investigates a series of murders targeting civil rights leaders in 1960s Mississippi. But the drama film also brings in notorious mob enforcer Greg Scarpa, played by Mark Wahlberg, and that changes the entire shape of the story.
What starts as an investigation appears to become something much messier. The plot makes By Any Means stand out from most true-crime films. Strider is introduced as a man who believes in the system. Early in the story, he explains that he joined the FBI because he believes in justice and wants Black Americans to be part of delivering it. He is not a vigilante. He is not looking to break rules. He believes the law can work. But he soon realizes that nobody seems interested in helping him.
The murders keep piling up. Witnesses refuse to talk. Cases remain unsolved. Local authorities appear ineffective or unwilling to act. The trailer suggests that Strider’s growing frustration becomes one of the film’s main driving forces. He can see what is happening, but every legal avenue seems blocked.
Enter Greg Scarpa. Scarpa is one of those characters who changes the tone of a movie the moment he appears. He is connected to organized crime, comfortable with violence, and completely uninterested in procedure. While Strider follows rules, Scarpa views rules as obstacles.
The contrast between the two men looks like the heart of the film. One wants justice through the system. The other believes results are all that matter.
As the investigation progresses, By Any Means appears less interested in asking who committed the crimes and more interested in asking how far someone should go to stop them. The title itself hints at that question. Once the legal system stops working, what options remain?
Viewers expecting a mystery built around clues and suspects may be surprised. The footage released so far points toward a character-driven story where moral compromise becomes just as important as the investigation itself. The tension seems to come from watching Strider navigate a world where the lines between justice, revenge, and survival become increasingly difficult to separate.
Director Elegance Bratton appears to be leaning into that conflict rather than offering easy answers. The Civil Rights era setting also adds weight to the story. Unlike many historical thrillers that use the period as a backdrop, By Any Means seems deeply connected to the realities of the time. Racially motivated violence is not simply part of the setting. It is the reason the story exists.
Several moments in the trailer suggest the personal toll of the investigation becomes just as important as the case itself. There are conversations about family, fear, and what people are willing to sacrifice when violence comes to their doorstep. Those moments hint that the movie will spend as much time exploring consequences as action.
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II has consistently been at his best when playing characters caught between competing worlds, whether in Watchmen, Candyman, or The Trial of the Chicago 7. Wayne Strider looks like another role built around internal conflict rather than simple heroism.
Mark Wahlberg, meanwhile, appears to be leaning into Scarpa’s unpredictability. He is not presented as a mentor or partner in the traditional sense. He looks more like a dangerous shortcut that Strider may eventually regret taking.
The supporting cast is equally strong, featuring Nicole Beharie, Josh Lucas, LisaGay Hamilton, LaChanze, Ethan Embry, David Strathairn, and Giancarlo Esposito. Even before release, By any Means cast lineup suggests a film built around performances rather than spectacle.
The closest comparisons may be films like Mississippi Burning, Judas and the Black Messiah, Killers of the Flower Moon, and Black Mass.
Like Mississippi Burning, it explores racial violence and federal investigations in the American South. Like Black Mass, it examines the uneasy relationship between law enforcement and organized crime. And similar to Judas and the Black Messiah, it seems interested in the cost of pursuing justice inside a deeply flawed system.
That combination could make By Any Means one of the more unusual crime dramas of the year. It has the ingredients of a thriller, but the real appeal may come from the ethical questions it raises. The conflict between Strider and Scarpa provides the tension. But the larger question appears to be whether justice can survive when people stop believing the law is capable of delivering it.
What to Watch After By Any Means
Mississippi Burning (1988)
Two FBI agents investigate the disappearance of civil rights activists in Mississippi while confronting local corruption and racial violence.
Judas and the Black Messiah (2021)
The story of FBI informant William O’Neal and his infiltration of the Black Panther Party led by Fred Hampton.
Black Mass (2015)
A crime drama about the controversial alliance between the FBI and notorious Boston mob boss Whitey Bulger.
Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)
Federal investigators uncover a conspiracy behind a series of murders targeting members of the Osage Nation.
A Time to Kill (1996)
A lawyer defends a Black father accused of taking justice into his own hands after a horrific crime.
Godfather of Harlem (TV Series)
A crime drama exploring the intersection of organized crime, politics, and civil rights activism in 1960s America.