Movie Review: ‘By Any Means’ is a propulsive action thriller set against the Civil Rights Movement
Hollywood has given us some classic mismatched buddy cop movies, like Nick Nolte and Eddie Murphy in “48 Hrs.,” Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker in “Rush Hour” and perhaps the most iconic pair — Mel Gibson and Danny…
Mark Wahlberg and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II star in "By Any Means," an action thriller set during the Civil Rights Movement in the late 1960s. The film follows a Southern-born, bookish Black FBI agent, played by Abdul-Mateen, paired with a cynical New York Mafia hitman, portrayed by Wahlberg. The two are tasked with cracking a 1966 firebombing murder of a Mississippi NAACP leader, and the FBI enlists the hitman off the books to solve the case.
Director Elegance Bratton and screenwriter Sascha Penn expertly navigate the various divides and historical animosities of the time, delivering a propulsive and muscular action thriller. The film is based on true events, with Abdul-Mateen crafting a complex and charismatic character, Wayne Strider, from a real FBI informant named Gregory Scarpa, who was enlisted to hunt the KKK despite the dangerous nature of his mission.
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