Enter a Rotten Tomatoes movie slug to inspect the stored movie, batches, snapshots, and reviews.
Movie ID: 1124
RT slug: by_any_means_2026
RT URL: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/by_any_means_2026
Release year: 2026
Runtime: —
Wide release date: 2026-09-04
Limited release date: —
Festival premiere date: —
Streaming release date: —
Tomatometer final: —
Audience score final: —
Genres: Crime, Drama, History, Mystery & Thriller
Directors: Elegance Bratton
Writers: Sascha Penn
Producers: Alex Lebovici, Basil Iwanyk, Chester Algernal Gordon, Elegance Bratton, Erica Lee, Mark Wahlberg, Stephen Levinson
MPAA rating: —
Executive Producers: Adam Kolbrenner, Brando Eaton, Brent Guttman, Brian Keefe, Chase Vergari, Christine Holder, Christopher Tremann, David Goldman, Dorit Hakim, Gianni Benvenuto, Gregg Davis, Ibrahim Mohammed, Jason Pamer, Jeff Rice, Jesse Fox, Jonathan Miller, Jonathan Oakes, Kevin G. Lee, Kim Atwood Cleworth, Lee Broda, Lee Shira, Logan Coles, Mark Carmer, Mark Holder, Michael J. Rothstein, Nicki Cortese, Patrick Josten, Petr Jákl, Philip Schenkler, Richie Walls, Rob McGillivray, Samuel Hall, Sascha Penn, Victor Moyers, Walter Josten, Warren Goz, Wayne Marc Godfrey, Yasmyne Mohammed
Created: 2026-08-10 11:54:11
Updated: 2026-09-18 16:53:46
Based on a true story, a young Black FBI agent (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) is sent into 1960s Mississippi to investigate a wave of brutal killings targeting civil rights leaders. Forced to work alongside notorious mafia hitman Greg Scarpa (Mark Wahlberg), he finds himself pulled into a deadly hunt where justice and vengeance begin to blur. When the system is broken, two men divided by everything agree on one thing: the law has limits. They don't.
—
Canonical reviews: 78
Canonical fresh: 39
Canonical rotten: 39
Canonical calculated Tomatometer: 78 (39/39), 50% (50.000% raw)
Latest snapshot UTC: 2026-10-07 13:59:58
Snapshot Tomatometer: 50%
Snapshot review count: 78
Snapshot fresh count: —
Snapshot rotten count: —
Source note: Imported from manual review paste batch #4383 (delta_update)
| Company | Role |
|---|---|
| Paramount Pictures | distributor |
| Hammerstone Studios | production |
| Billing | Name | Character |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yahya Abdul-Mateen II | — |
| 2 | Mark Wahlberg | — |
| 3 | Nicole Beharie | — |
| 4 | Josh Lucas | — |
| 5 | LisaGay Hamilton | — |
| 6 | LaChanze | — |
| 7 | Ethan Embry | — |
| 8 | David Strathairn | — |
| 9 | Giancarlo Esposito | Vernon Dahmer |
| Batch ID | Status | Mode | Created | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1140 | processed | — | 2026-08-10 11:54:11 | Processed successfully into movie_id=1124 using update_mode=merge_non_empty. |
| Batch ID | Local Snapshot | UTC Snapshot | Entered % | Entered Count | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4383 | 2026-10-07 08:59:00 (America/Panama) | 2026-10-07 13:59:58 | 50% | 78 | processed | Mode=delta_update. Processed 3 row(s); 0 row error(s). Parsed unique reviews in this batch=3, fresh=3, rotten=0, tomatometer=100%. Net new reviews added=3, fresh=3, rotten=0. Current canonical totals=78 reviews, 39 fresh, 39 rotten, tomatometer=50% (50.000%). Entered headline matched current canonical totals (78 reviews, 50%). |
| 3876 | 2026-09-21 07:49:00 (America/Panama) | 2026-09-21 12:49:33 | 48% | 75 | processed | Mode=delta_update. Processed 3 row(s); 0 row error(s). Parsed unique reviews in this batch=3, fresh=2, rotten=1, tomatometer=67%. Net new reviews added=3, fresh=2, rotten=1. Current canonical totals=75 reviews, 36 fresh, 39 rotten, tomatometer=48% (48.000%). Entered headline matched current canonical totals (75 reviews, 48%). |
| 3641 | 2026-09-13 09:48:00 (America/Panama) | 2026-09-13 14:48:50 | 47% | 72 | processed | Mode=delta_update. Processed 4 row(s); 0 row error(s). Parsed unique reviews in this batch=4, fresh=1, rotten=3, tomatometer=25%. Net new reviews added=4, fresh=1, rotten=3. Current canonical totals=72 reviews, 34 fresh, 38 rotten, tomatometer=47% (47.222%). Entered headline matched current canonical totals (72 reviews, 47%). |
| 3500 | 2026-09-10 09:13:00 (America/Panama) | 2026-09-10 14:13:02 | 49% | 68 | processed | Mode=delta_update. Processed 3 row(s); 0 row error(s). Parsed unique reviews in this batch=3, fresh=1, rotten=2, tomatometer=33%. Net new reviews added=3, fresh=1, rotten=2. Current canonical totals=68 reviews, 33 fresh, 35 rotten, tomatometer=49% (48.529%). Entered headline matched current canonical totals (68 reviews, 49%). |
| 3468 | 2026-09-09 08:32:00 (America/Panama) | 2026-09-09 13:32:36 | 49% | 65 | processed | Mode=delta_update. Processed 4 row(s); 0 row error(s). Parsed unique reviews in this batch=4, fresh=1, rotten=3, tomatometer=25%. Net new reviews added=4, fresh=1, rotten=3. Current canonical totals=65 reviews, 32 fresh, 33 rotten, tomatometer=49% (49.231%). Entered headline matched current canonical totals (65 reviews, 49%). |
| 3440 | 2026-09-08 07:56:00 (America/Panama) | 2026-09-08 12:56:31 | 51% | 61 | processed | Mode=delta_update. Processed 1 row(s); 0 row error(s). Parsed unique reviews in this batch=1, fresh=0, rotten=1, tomatometer=0%. Net new reviews added=1, fresh=0, rotten=1. Current canonical totals=61 reviews, 31 fresh, 30 rotten, tomatometer=51% (50.820%). Entered headline matched current canonical totals (61 reviews, 51%). |
| 3436 | 2026-09-07 19:01:00 (America/Panama) | 2026-09-08 00:01:59 | 52% | 60 | processed | Mode=delta_update. Processed 5 row(s); 0 row error(s). Parsed unique reviews in this batch=5, fresh=2, rotten=3, tomatometer=40%. Net new reviews added=5, fresh=2, rotten=3. Current canonical totals=60 reviews, 31 fresh, 29 rotten, tomatometer=52% (51.667%). Entered headline matched current canonical totals (60 reviews, 52%). |
| 3417 | 2026-09-07 08:33:00 (America/Panama) | 2026-09-07 13:33:29 | 53% | 55 | processed | Mode=delta_update. Processed 2 row(s); 0 row error(s). Parsed unique reviews in this batch=2, fresh=0, rotten=2, tomatometer=0%. Net new reviews added=2, fresh=0, rotten=2. Current canonical totals=55 reviews, 29 fresh, 26 rotten, tomatometer=53% (52.727%). Entered headline matched current canonical totals (55 reviews, 53%). |
| 3405 | 2026-09-06 10:01:00 (America/Panama) | 2026-09-06 15:01:56 | 55% | 53 | processed | Mode=delta_update. Processed 1 row(s); 0 row error(s). Parsed unique reviews in this batch=1, fresh=1, rotten=0, tomatometer=100%. Net new reviews added=1, fresh=1, rotten=0. Current canonical totals=53 reviews, 29 fresh, 24 rotten, tomatometer=55% (54.717%). Entered headline matched current canonical totals (53 reviews, 55%). |
| 3403 | 2026-09-05 13:50:00 (America/Panama) | 2026-09-05 18:50:35 | 54% | 52 | processed | Mode=delta_update. Processed 1 row(s); 0 row error(s). Parsed unique reviews in this batch=1, fresh=1, rotten=0, tomatometer=100%. Net new reviews added=1, fresh=1, rotten=0. Current canonical totals=52 reviews, 28 fresh, 24 rotten, tomatometer=54% (53.846%). Entered headline matched current canonical totals (52 reviews, 54%). |
| 3397 | 2026-09-05 08:42:00 (America/Panama) | 2026-09-05 13:42:59 | 53% | 51 | processed | Mode=delta_update. Processed 8 row(s); 0 row error(s). Parsed unique reviews in this batch=8, fresh=3, rotten=5, tomatometer=38%. Net new reviews added=8, fresh=3, rotten=5. Current canonical totals=51 reviews, 27 fresh, 24 rotten, tomatometer=53% (52.941%). Entered headline matched current canonical totals (51 reviews, 53%). |
| 3394 | 2026-09-04 16:30:00 (America/Panama) | 2026-09-04 21:30:45 | 56% | 43 | processed | Mode=delta_update. Processed 2 row(s); 0 row error(s). Parsed unique reviews in this batch=2, fresh=1, rotten=1, tomatometer=50%. Net new reviews added=2, fresh=1, rotten=1. Current canonical totals=43 reviews, 24 fresh, 19 rotten, tomatometer=56% (55.814%). Entered headline matched current canonical totals (43 reviews, 56%). |
| 3390 | 2026-09-04 14:21:00 (America/Panama) | 2026-09-04 19:21:46 | 56% | 41 | processed | Mode=delta_update. Processed 2 row(s); 0 row error(s). Parsed unique reviews in this batch=2, fresh=1, rotten=1, tomatometer=50%. Net new reviews added=2, fresh=1, rotten=1. Current canonical totals=41 reviews, 23 fresh, 18 rotten, tomatometer=56% (56.098%). Entered headline matched current canonical totals (41 reviews, 56%). |
| 3389 | 2026-09-04 13:40:00 (America/Panama) | 2026-09-04 18:40:57 | 56% | 39 | processed | Mode=delta_update. Processed 2 row(s); 0 row error(s). Parsed unique reviews in this batch=2, fresh=1, rotten=1, tomatometer=50%. Net new reviews added=2, fresh=1, rotten=1. Current canonical totals=39 reviews, 22 fresh, 17 rotten, tomatometer=56% (56.410%). Entered headline matched current canonical totals (39 reviews, 56%). |
| 3387 | 2026-09-04 12:30:00 (America/Panama) | 2026-09-04 17:30:49 | 57% | 37 | processed | Mode=delta_update. Processed 1 row(s); 0 row error(s). Parsed unique reviews in this batch=1, fresh=0, rotten=1, tomatometer=0%. Net new reviews added=1, fresh=0, rotten=1. Current canonical totals=37 reviews, 21 fresh, 16 rotten, tomatometer=57% (56.757%). Entered headline matched current canonical totals (37 reviews, 57%). |
| 3385 | 2026-09-04 11:51:00 (America/Panama) | 2026-09-04 16:51:11 | 60% | 35 | processed | Mode=delta_update. Processed 2 row(s); 0 row error(s). Parsed unique reviews in this batch=2, fresh=1, rotten=1, tomatometer=50%. Net new reviews added=2, fresh=1, rotten=1. Current canonical totals=36 reviews, 21 fresh, 15 rotten, tomatometer=58% (58.333%). WARNING: entered headline 35 reviews / 60% did not match current canonical totals 36 reviews / 58%. |
| 3383 | 2026-09-04 11:24:00 (America/Panama) | 2026-09-04 16:24:45 | 59% | 34 | processed | Mode=delta_update. Processed 1 row(s); 0 row error(s). Parsed unique reviews in this batch=1, fresh=1, rotten=0, tomatometer=100%. Net new reviews added=1, fresh=1, rotten=0. Current canonical totals=34 reviews, 20 fresh, 14 rotten, tomatometer=59% (58.824%). Entered headline matched current canonical totals (34 reviews, 59%). |
| 3381 | 2026-09-04 11:00:00 (America/Panama) | 2026-09-04 16:00:21 | 58% | 33 | processed | Mode=delta_update. Processed 1 row(s); 0 row error(s). Parsed unique reviews in this batch=1, fresh=0, rotten=1, tomatometer=0%. Net new reviews added=1, fresh=0, rotten=1. Current canonical totals=33 reviews, 19 fresh, 14 rotten, tomatometer=58% (57.576%). Entered headline matched current canonical totals (33 reviews, 58%). |
| 3380 | 2026-09-04 10:41:00 (America/Panama) | 2026-09-04 15:41:09 | 58% | 33 | processed | Mode=delta_update. Processed 1 row(s); 0 row error(s). Parsed unique reviews in this batch=1, fresh=0, rotten=1, tomatometer=0%. Net new reviews added=1, fresh=0, rotten=1. Current canonical totals=32 reviews, 19 fresh, 13 rotten, tomatometer=59% (59.375%). WARNING: entered headline 33 reviews / 58% did not match current canonical totals 32 reviews / 59%. |
| 3378 | 2026-09-04 09:36:00 (America/Panama) | 2026-09-04 14:36:27 | 61% | 31 | processed | Mode=delta_update. Processed 2 row(s); 0 row error(s). Parsed unique reviews in this batch=2, fresh=0, rotten=2, tomatometer=0%. Net new reviews added=2, fresh=0, rotten=2. Current canonical totals=31 reviews, 19 fresh, 12 rotten, tomatometer=61% (61.290%). Entered headline matched current canonical totals (31 reviews, 61%). |
| 3372 | 2026-09-04 09:06:00 (America/Panama) | 2026-09-04 14:06:26 | 66% | 29 | processed | Mode=delta_update. Processed 10 row(s); 0 row error(s). Parsed unique reviews in this batch=10, fresh=5, rotten=5, tomatometer=50%. Net new reviews added=10, fresh=5, rotten=5. Current canonical totals=29 reviews, 19 fresh, 10 rotten, tomatometer=66% (65.517%). Entered headline matched current canonical totals (29 reviews, 66%). |
| 3368 | 2026-09-03 16:06:00 (America/Panama) | 2026-09-03 21:06:50 | 74% | 19 | processed | Mode=delta_update. Processed 3 row(s); 0 row error(s). Parsed unique reviews in this batch=3, fresh=3, rotten=0, tomatometer=100%. Net new reviews added=3, fresh=3, rotten=0. Current canonical totals=19 reviews, 14 fresh, 5 rotten, tomatometer=74% (73.684%). Entered headline matched current canonical totals (19 reviews, 74%). |
| 3362 | 2026-09-03 14:31:00 (America/Panama) | 2026-09-03 19:31:48 | 69% | 16 | processed | Mode=delta_update. Processed 1 row(s); 0 row error(s). Parsed unique reviews in this batch=1, fresh=1, rotten=0, tomatometer=100%. Net new reviews added=1, fresh=1, rotten=0. Current canonical totals=16 reviews, 11 fresh, 5 rotten, tomatometer=69% (68.750%). Entered headline matched current canonical totals (16 reviews, 69%). |
| 3360 | 2026-09-03 13:13:00 (America/Panama) | 2026-09-03 18:13:05 | 67% | 15 | processed | Mode=delta_update. Processed 1 row(s); 0 row error(s). Parsed unique reviews in this batch=1, fresh=1, rotten=0, tomatometer=100%. Net new reviews added=1, fresh=1, rotten=0. Current canonical totals=15 reviews, 10 fresh, 5 rotten, tomatometer=67% (66.667%). Entered headline matched current canonical totals (15 reviews, 67%). |
| 3359 | 2026-09-03 12:42:00 (America/Panama) | 2026-09-03 17:42:27 | 64% | 14 | processed | Mode=delta_update. Processed 3 row(s); 0 row error(s). Parsed unique reviews in this batch=3, fresh=2, rotten=1, tomatometer=67%. Net new reviews added=3, fresh=2, rotten=1. Current canonical totals=14 reviews, 9 fresh, 5 rotten, tomatometer=64% (64.286%). Entered headline matched current canonical totals (14 reviews, 64%). |
| 3357 | 2026-09-03 12:31:00 (America/Panama) | 2026-09-03 17:31:32 | 64% | 14 | processed | Mode=delta_update. Processed 4 row(s); 0 row error(s). Parsed unique reviews in this batch=4, fresh=3, rotten=1, tomatometer=75%. Net new reviews added=4, fresh=3, rotten=1. Current canonical totals=11 reviews, 7 fresh, 4 rotten, tomatometer=64% (63.636%). WARNING: entered headline 14 reviews / 64% did not match current canonical totals 11 reviews / 64%. |
| 3356 | 2026-09-03 11:54:00 (America/Panama) | 2026-09-03 16:54:40 | — | 8 | processed | Mode=delta_update. Processed 1 row(s); 0 row error(s). Parsed unique reviews in this batch=1, fresh=1, rotten=0, tomatometer=100%. Net new reviews added=1, fresh=1, rotten=0. Current canonical totals=7 reviews, 4 fresh, 3 rotten, tomatometer=57% (57.143%). WARNING: delta batch had no complete entered headline values, so no rt_score_snapshot row was created. |
| 3355 | 2026-09-03 11:26:00 (America/Panama) | 2026-09-03 16:26:49 | — | 6 | processed | Mode=delta_update. Processed 5 row(s); 0 row error(s). Parsed unique reviews in this batch=5, fresh=2, rotten=3, tomatometer=40%. Net new reviews added=5, fresh=2, rotten=3. Current canonical totals=6 reviews, 3 fresh, 3 rotten, tomatometer=50% (50.000%). WARNING: delta batch had no complete entered headline values, so no rt_score_snapshot row was created. |
| 3350 | 2026-09-03 07:21:00 (America/Panama) | 2026-09-03 12:21:01 | — | 1 | processed | Mode=delta_update. Processed 1 row(s); 0 row error(s). Parsed unique reviews in this batch=1, fresh=1, rotten=0, tomatometer=100%. Net new reviews added=1, fresh=1, rotten=0. Current canonical totals=1 reviews, 1 fresh, 0 rotten, tomatometer=100% (100.000%). WARNING: delta batch had no complete entered headline values, so no rt_score_snapshot row was created. |
| ID | Critic | Outlet | Fresh? | Score | RT Time Raw | Approx Published UTC | Quote |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 287369 | Marie Asner | Phantom Tollbooth | Fresh | 3/5 | 2026-10-06T17:55:17.000Z | 2026-10-06 17:55:17 | Mark Wahlberg does it well. |
| 287370 | Andrea Chase | Killer Movie Reviews | Fresh | 4/5 | 2026-10-02T00:51:09.000Z | 2026-10-02 00:51:09 | As vicious as the people and events it portrays, and any depiction of that time needs to be if it wants to be honest. Beyond the history lesson, it poses tough questions as it contemplates the meaning of justice and the price of humanity. |
| 287371 | Cole Groth | FandomWire | Fresh | 6/10 | 2026-09-30T11:07:15.000Z | 2026-09-30 11:07:15 | By Any Means is a decent, occasionally cathartic historical thriller, but its disjointed tone keeps it from making a lasting mark. |
| 276884 | Dionar Hidalgo | Algo Más Que Cine | Fresh | 6/10 | 2026-09-19T17:52:04.000Z | 2026-09-19 17:52:04 | Elegance Bratton turns a disturbing chapter of American history into a visually striking thriller, elevated by strong performances. But its heavy-handed themes, emotional score, and uneven stylistic choices keep its ambitious story from fully landing. |
| 276885 | David Griffiths | Subculture Entertainment | Rotten | 2.5/5 | 2026-09-17T04:51:34.000Z | 2026-09-17 04:51:34 | Begins with promise but this certainly ain't Mississippi Burning. The second half falls away and is so rushed that character motivation goes right out the window. What should be a an important film becomes torture porn. |
| 276886 | Neely Swanson | Beverly Hills Courier | Fresh | — | 2026-09-15T17:33:43.000Z | 2026-09-15 17:33:43 | Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is a true star. His transformation from naive idealist believing in “truth, justice and the American way,” to cynical vessel of retribution is fast and yet totally believable. |
| 268933 | Stephen Silver | The SS Ben Hecht | Rotten | — | 2026-09-11T22:01:31.000Z | 2026-09-11 22:01:31 | It’s a very odd movie, telling a story that should be interesting but is presented in a ham-fisted, cynical way. And I doubt much of it is true. |
| 268934 | Todd Jorgenson | Cinemalogue | Rotten | — | 2026-09-11T16:49:44.000Z | 2026-09-11 16:49:44 | Muddling its true-life source material, this uneven procedural thriller has worthwhile ambitions and intentions yet too often leans into cliches and heavy-handed embellishments. |
| 268935 | Ruben Peralta Rigaud | Cocalecas | Rotten | — | 2026-09-10T20:15:36.000Z | 2026-09-10 20:15:36 | Bratton never quite manages to reconcile the historical drama he wants to create with the revenge fantasy that constantly threatens to take over the film. [Full review in Spanish] |
| 268936 | Leigh Paatsch | Daily Telegraph (Australia) | Fresh | 2.5/5 | 2026-09-10T20:02:51.000Z | 2026-09-10 20:02:51 | It’s sort of silly, slightly scary and relentlessly violent, but not without its selective merits as a vivid reminder of a terrible time in modern American history. |
| 260470 | Shawn Edwards | Fox 4 Kansas City | Rotten | 2/5 | 2026-09-09T23:34:09.000Z | 2026-09-09 23:34:09 | So loosely based on historical events, it might as well have went full fiction. |
| 260471 | Jeremy Jahns | JeremyJahns.com | Fresh | — | 2026-09-09T23:27:13.000Z | 2026-09-09 23:27:13 | The stars have phenomenal chemistry together. That's what sells it. |
| 260472 | Lauren Weiner | That Shelf | Rotten | — | 2026-09-09T19:13:44.000Z | 2026-09-09 19:13:44 | [By Any Means] ends up as an unfortunately flat take on fighting racial injustice. |
| 260366 | Carla Hay | Culture Mix | Rotten | — | 2026-09-08T22:57:14.000Z | 2026-09-08 22:57:14 | By Any Means stumbles with shallow characters and racial condescension in depicting investigations of violent crimes against civil rights activists in 1960s Mississippi. A white mobster constantly tells an African American FBI agent what to do. |
| 260367 | James Berardinelli | ReelViews | Rotten | 2.5/5 | 2026-09-08T22:32:07.000Z | 2026-09-08 22:32:07 | The film never provides a central villain to direct the evils of the henchmen. As a result, the movie concludes with the nagging feeling that something critical is missing. |
| 260368 | Rick Bentley | KGET-TV (Bakersfield, CA) | Rotten | C- | 2026-09-08T18:49:02.000Z | 2026-09-08 18:49:02 | The truth of “By Any Means” is that despite a standout performance by Abdul-Mateen, the film wallows in so much hatred, corruption and radical racism that the film ends up being uncomfortable to watch. |
| 260369 | Nadya Martinez | Nerdspin | Fresh | C | 2026-09-08T13:30:06.000Z | 2026-09-08 13:30:06 | Engaging enough to keep you watching, and Wahlberg and Abdul-Mateen give it a strong central dynamic. But the deeper the movie moves into its historical territory, the more its familiar action-movie machinery feels at odds with the material. |
| 260293 | Monica Castillo | AV Club | Rotten | C- | 2026-09-08T02:07:16.000Z | 2026-09-08 02:07:16 | Bratton uses the film to prove he has the big-budget chops to handle movie stars, and Abdul-Mateen plays out each of his character’s conflicted feelings with nuance, but they’re both overshadowed by the antics of Wahlberg’s dead-eyed antihero. |
| 260281 | Alci Rengifo | Entertainment Voice | Rotten | — | 2026-09-07T22:55:42.000Z | 2026-09-07 22:55:42 | By Any Means as a work of drama has the right to propose its ideas, but it also needs more substance to back them up. |
| 260282 | Alison Willmore | New York Magazine/Vulture | Rotten | — | 2026-09-07T22:54:41.000Z | 2026-09-07 22:54:41 | It’s a mess of a thing, burdened by Wahlberg’s hammy impersonation and co-star Yahya Abdul-Mateen II floundering to find a center for his character, special agent Wayne Strider. |
| 260283 | Abbie Bernstein | Assignment X | Fresh | B | 2026-09-07T22:51:17.000Z | 2026-09-07 22:51:17 | As a violent actioner, it delivers, and it’s never less than intriguing. |
| 260284 | Joe Friar | Fort Worth Report | Rotten | 2.5/4 | 2026-09-07T21:04:31.000Z | 2026-09-07 21:04:31 | I enjoyed Abdul-Mateen’s solid performance, though the transformation could have happened a bit sooner in the film. I wish Wahlberg had played Scarpa without the prosthetics. Less violence and a bit more dialogue would have gone a long way. |
| 260285 | Keith Garlington | Keith & the Movies | Fresh | 3.5/5 | 2026-09-07T20:26:20.000Z | 2026-09-07 20:26:20 | (Bratton) sticks close enough to history and his statements on it are crystal clear. But he also delivers the kind of buddy-cop camaraderie and action-fueled thrills that genre fans will delight in. |
| 258817 | Andrew Parker | The Gate | Rotten | 5/10 | 2026-09-07T09:57:52.000Z | 2026-09-07 09:57:52 | What could’ve been [interesting] turns into a traditional cop thriller inspired less by the civil rights era and more by the kinds of B-movies that popped up in theatres a decade later. |
| 258818 | Sean Burns | Spliced Personality (Substack) | Rotten | — | 2026-09-07T03:27:18.000Z | 2026-09-07 03:27:18 | As crass and morally repugnant as any movie made this year, with the possible exception of 'Melania.' |
| 258773 | Mark Jackson | Epoch Times | Fresh | 3/5 | 2026-09-05T22:29:07.000Z | 2026-09-05 22:29:07 | The film delights too much in the admittedly fun concept of a mobbed-up Noo Yawk goombah whacking Southern Klansmen’s knees with a baseball bat. |
| 258769 | Dino-Ray Ramos | DIASPORA | Fresh | — | 2026-09-05T18:29:33.000Z | 2026-09-05 18:29:33 | By Any Means is essentially Mississippi Burning for 2026. Abdul-Mateen and Wahlberg have a surprising amount of good chemistry — but I would rather have seen that chemistry in a Lethal Weapon or 48 Hours situation. |
| 258743 | George and Josh Bate | ScreenAnarchy | Fresh | — | 2026-09-05T13:18:17.000Z | 2026-09-05 13:18:17 | A clichéd, yet admittedly entertaining movie that takes a bold stance on the inevitability of violence. |
| 258744 | Lupe Rodriguez Haas | CineMovie.tv | Fresh | B | 2026-09-05T06:55:40.000Z | 2026-09-05 06:55:40 | The movie may be uneven, but its provocative true-story foundation keeps you invested. And there’s an undeniable satisfaction in watching its racist antagonists finally get what’s coming to them — by any means necessary. |
| 258745 | Robert Kojder | Flickering Myth | Rotten | 2/5 | 2026-09-05T05:24:48.000Z | 2026-09-05 05:24:48 | By Any Means, like Scarpa, revels more in engaging in that violence than in any bleak, substantive messaging or meaningful character work |
| 258746 | Joseph Robinson | Fish Jelly Films (YouTube) | Rotten | 2.5/5 | 2026-09-05T01:14:16.000Z | 2026-09-05 01:14:16 | Equal parts history lesson, buddy comedy, and revenge fantasy, By Any Means is an odd bird carried by strong performances and an intriguing premise, but its storytelling lacks the nuance and connective tissue to bring everything together. |
| 258747 | Kristy Puchko | Mashable | Rotten | — | 2026-09-05T00:23:37.000Z | 2026-09-05 00:23:37 | By Any Means misses the mark as a movie with a mission. |
| 258748 | Richard Brody | The New Yorker | Fresh | — | 2026-09-04T22:33:47.000Z | 2026-09-04 22:33:47 | There's a tendency all too common in crime dramas that I'm tempted to call convenient incompetence... In a way, it feels churlish to pick at By Any Means for this, because, at its best moments, it honors the exalted struggles that it dramatizes. |
| 258749 | Joshua Mbonu | Geek Vibes Nation | Rotten | 4.5/10 | 2026-09-04T22:18:50.000Z | 2026-09-04 22:18:50 | There will certainly be an audience for By Any Means, and the film is okay enough that many will find it watchable, but it can’t fully commit to its buddy cop crime/thriller dynamics or deeper dramatic turmoil |
| 258750 | Rachel Wagner | Rachel's Reviews (YouTube) | Rotten | — | 2026-09-04T21:54:25.000Z | 2026-09-04 21:54:25 | The story is interesting but it feels sluggish and dull |
| 258738 | Erik Childress | Movie Madness Podcast | Rotten | 1/4 | 2026-09-04T20:51:28.000Z | 2026-09-04 20:51:28 | Wahlberg gets to do a lot of toothpick acting and the nose doesn’t play, nor does any of this self-serious call for justice. While Mateen is absolutely lost with his character, one imagines going full old school exploitation would have served this better. |
| 258739 | Maxance Vincent | The Cosmic Circus | Fresh | 3/5 | 2026-09-04T20:44:00.000Z | 2026-09-04 20:44:00 | Yahya Abdul-Mateen II continues to impress as one of the best actors working today. |
| 258731 | Peter Travers | The Travers Take | Rotten | 2/4 | 2026-09-04T19:01:27.000Z | 2026-09-04 19:01:27 | This true-life crime story with more than a few Hollywood trimmings has Mark Whalberg and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II fighting racial injustice until cliché quicksand pulls them down. |
| 258732 | Frank Wilkins | Reel Reviews | Fresh | 3/5 | 2026-09-04T18:46:22.000Z | 2026-09-04 18:46:22 | Keeps throwing the ugliness of history back at us: nothing about this period fits comfortably into the tidy boxes we might prefer. And that sentiment is hard. Hard, but important. |
| 258729 | Jeffrey Harris | 411mania | Rotten | 5/10 | 2026-09-04T18:15:55.000Z | 2026-09-04 18:15:55 | Unfortunately, despite a solid cast and interesting premise, director Elegance Bratton can’t quite bring this unlikely buddy pairing together. |
| 258730 | M.N. Miller | InSession Film | Fresh | B- | 2026-09-04T18:06:24.000Z | 2026-09-04 18:06:24 | By no means does By Any Means reinvent the civil rights thriller, but it tells one hell of a story with conviction. |
| 258725 | Christopher Lloyd | The Film Yap | Rotten | 2/5 | 2026-09-04T17:11:04.000Z | 2026-09-04 17:11:04 | It may be based-on-true, but this goofy crime drama feels like "Mississippi Burning" meets "The Sopranos" meets a third-rate buddy cop movie. Mark Wahlberg's prosthetic nose and belly are LOL-worthy. |
| 258722 | Clint Worthington | RogerEbert.com | Rotten | 2/4 | 2026-09-04T16:41:03.000Z | 2026-09-04 16:41:03 | [It] sits discomfitingly between exploitation picture and sober-eyed historical race drama, and can’t quite find a clear path to either. |
| 258723 | Nate Adams | The Only Critic | Fresh | B | 2026-09-04T16:26:23.000Z | 2026-09-04 16:26:23 | It understands the combustible appeal of placing two fundamentally different men inside a corrupt system and watching them decide how far they are willing to go. |
| 258719 | Cain Noble-Davies | FILMINK (Australia) | Fresh | 16.5/20 | 2026-09-04T16:05:08.000Z | 2026-09-04 16:05:08 | … a harsh depiction of an even harsher moment in American history. |
| 258717 | Micheal Compton | Bowling Green Daily News | Rotten | C- | 2026-09-04T15:31:37.000Z | 2026-09-04 15:31:37 | Part historical drama about the Civil Rights movement in the deep South, part buddy cop procedural, it is a film that feels conflicted with itself. |
| 258716 | Peter Martin | DallasFilmNow.com | Rotten | 2/5 | 2026-09-04T15:11:25.000Z | 2026-09-04 15:11:25 | From a certain point forward, By Any Means falls into fantasy territory ... Any hint of sympathy or empathy feels entirely misplaced, unbalancing the film to such an extent that it becomes difficult to watch, leaving a sour taste in the stomach. |
| 258713 | Sean Collier | Table Magazine | Rotten | 3/10 | 2026-09-04T14:10:51.000Z | 2026-09-04 14:10:51 | Cheapens and undercuts the actual message of the moment. |
| 258714 | Mark Dujsik | Mark Reviews Movies | Rotten | 2/4 | 2026-09-04T14:00:14.000Z | 2026-09-04 14:00:14 | [The] movie ... feels uncertain of what it wants to be. |
| 258673 | Brett Arnold | Yahoo.com | Rotten | — | 2026-09-04T12:49:33.000Z | 2026-09-04 12:49:33 | Mark Wahlberg gets top billing, but his prosthetic nose and toothpick do most of the heavy lifting. |
| 258674 | Jim Schembri | jimschembri.com | Fresh | 3.5/5 | 2026-09-04T11:30:47.000Z | 2026-09-04 11:30:47 | The perceptive, pointed direction by Elegance Bratton deliberately steers clear of the cliche that mismatched crime fighters forced to work together develop a begrudging respect for each other. That ain’t the case here. |
| 258675 | John Campea | The John Campea Show | Fresh | — | 2026-09-04T04:08:18.000Z | 2026-09-04 04:08:18 | There is something viscerally satisfying about seeing terrible people getting the crap beat out of them. |
| 258676 | Zach Pope | Zach Pope Reviews | Rotten | 2.5/5 | 2026-09-04T02:40:28.000Z | 2026-09-04 02:40:28 | It’s better than I expected and there’s an interesting story buried in here, but for material this heavy, everything feels surprisingly simple. Add in a bizarre tonal shift and an anticlimactic ending, and I’m wondering what happened in the editing room. |
| 258677 | John Odette | Pop Culture Leftovers | Fresh | — | 2026-09-04T02:07:13.000Z | 2026-09-04 02:07:13 | By Any Means, steeped in both truth and fantasy, is a wild ride throughout most of the runtime. |
| 258678 | Derek Smith | Slant Magazine | Rotten | 1.5/4 | 2026-09-04T00:51:47.000Z | 2026-09-04 00:51:47 | The film gestures toward interrogating state-sanctioned violence, but dubiously so, as it’s mostly content to celebrate revenge as justice. |
| 258679 | Brian Orndorf | Blu-ray.com | Rotten | D+ | 2026-09-04T00:18:04.000Z | 2026-09-04 00:18:04 | "By Any Means" isn’t a serious movie. |
| 258680 | Travis Hopson | Punch Drunk Critics | Fresh | 3/5 | 2026-09-04T00:05:53.000Z | 2026-09-04 00:05:53 | By Any Means is a better movie for exaggerating things as much as it does, because who doesn’t want to watch Nazi scumbags get what they got comin’? |
| 258681 | Jake Wilson | Sydney Morning Herald | Rotten | 2.5/5 | 2026-09-03T22:22:58.000Z | 2026-09-03 22:22:58 | The uneasy but also intriguing thing about By Any Means is its way of teetering between reality and fantasy – in line with the age-old movie principle that when two contrasting guys are brought together, each of them has something to learn. |
| 258682 | Tony Medley | tonymedley.com | Fresh | 7/10 | 2026-09-03T22:17:29.000Z | 2026-09-03 22:17:29 | Despite the fictional black agent, it's well made, powerfully acted...Its power comes less from strict factual certainty than from the unsettling truth that, in this episode of American history, justice and lawlessness were sometimes disturbingly close. |
| 258655 | Mark Kennedy | Associated Press | Fresh | 3/4 | 2026-09-03T20:35:10.000Z | 2026-09-03 20:35:10 | Full credit to Abdul-Mateen, who has created a complex, charismatic character from thin air, taking his agent Wayne Strider on a slow-burn trip from all tucked-in, waiting-outside respectfully to car-chasing, gun-shooting revenge-fantasy hero. |
| 258656 | Avi Offer | NYC Movie Guru | Fresh | — | 2026-09-03T20:25:07.000Z | 2026-09-03 20:25:07 | A gritty and well-cast, but tonally uneven, shallow and by-the-numbers crime thriller. |
| 258657 | Jonathan Sim | ComingSoon.net | Fresh | 6/10 | 2026-09-03T20:23:06.000Z | 2026-09-03 20:23:06 | With strong performances from Abdul-Mateen II and Wahlberg and a compelling historical backdrop, By Any Means remains a solid, worthwhile thriller, even if it ultimately feels more familiar than unforgettable. |
| 258646 | Juanma Fernández París | El Nuevo Día (Puerto Rico) | Fresh | 4/5 | 2026-09-03T18:57:37.000Z | 2026-09-03 18:57:37 | [Elegance Bratton] distinguishes himself by honoring the genre conventions that the script imposes on the story without marginalizing the dramatic complexity of the central theme. [Full review in Spanish] |
| 258644 | Brandon Zachary | Screen Rant | Fresh | 7/10 | 2026-09-03T17:53:49.000Z | 2026-09-03 17:53:49 | Brought to life by solid performances and strong direction, By Any Means doesn't quite have the character depth or clear resolution that audiences are going to want from it. Clearly, that's kind of the point. |
| 258641 | Ben Kenigsberg | New York Times | Rotten | — | 2026-09-03T17:16:03.000Z | 2026-09-03 17:16:03 | It might have approached the material as either film noir or straight-up exploitation, but its sincerity exists uneasily with its head smashing, and the buddy-cop elements feel out of place. |
| 258642 | Owen Myers | Guardian | Fresh | 3/5 | 2026-09-03T17:14:26.000Z | 2026-09-03 17:14:26 | The result is grimly effective while also being one of the most grisly and upsetting films in recent memory. As a provocation, By All Means is hard to forget. |
| 258643 | Angie Han | The Hollywood Reporter | Fresh | — | 2026-09-03T17:13:57.000Z | 2026-09-03 17:13:57 | The marriage of familiar story beats and less familiar history proves an awkward and uneasy one -- albeit one still capable, here and there, of producing nasty thrills. |
| 258634 | Christian Zilko | IndieWire | Fresh | B+ | 2026-09-03T17:12:58.000Z | 2026-09-03 17:12:58 | Those already on board with its message about America’s past sins will undoubtedly enjoy the protagonists’ quest for justice, and the riveting packaging might also introduce its historical subject matter to a few of the uninitiated. |
| 258635 | Richard Crouse | Richard Crouse | Fresh | 2.5/5 | 2026-09-03T16:51:37.000Z | 2026-09-03 16:51:37 | By Any Means is an entertaining late summer crime drama, but in its treatment of morality is more wish-fulfillment revenge than treatise on systemic complicity in illegal methods used in law enforcement. |
| 258636 | Julian Roman | MovieWeb | Fresh | 3/5 | 2026-09-03T16:50:55.000Z | 2026-09-03 16:50:55 | By Any Means literally pulls no punches in a savage retelling of a horrific crime from America's racist past. A legacy of ugly violence and white supremacist oppression is graphically depicted against the indomitable drive for freedom. |
| 258637 | Matt Singer | ScreenCrush | Rotten | 5/10 | 2026-09-03T16:47:24.000Z | 2026-09-03 16:47:24 | By Any Means might hit harder if Abdul-Mateen and Wahlberg felt like they were appearing in the same movie. |
| 258633 | Liz Braun | Original Cin | Fresh | B | 2026-09-03T16:25:43.000Z | 2026-09-03 16:25:43 | Kind of ridiculous but also engaging, the film is elevated by strong performances. And bringing a bit of history to the big screen can’t hurt. |
| 258628 | Alexander Zalben | Comic Book Club | Rotten | — | 2026-09-03T16:06:55.000Z | 2026-09-03 16:06:55 | What might have been an eye-catching elevator pitch and script... ended with the bizarre tonal mismatch we get on screen, a movie that you shouldn’t avoid by any means, but there’s no need to seek it out, either. |
| 258629 | Giovanni Lago | Next Best Picture | Rotten | 5/10 | 2026-09-03T16:06:31.000Z | 2026-09-03 16:06:31 | Elegance Bratton's direction doesn't translate towards more action heavy moments. Sascha Penn's screenplay is both imbalanced in the moral challenges it wishes to pique and the storylines it wishes to focus on. |
| 258630 | William Bibbiani | TheWrap | Fresh | — | 2026-09-03T16:05:58.000Z | 2026-09-03 16:05:58 | His co-star may be skimming the surface, but Abdul-Mateen II goes to labyrinthine lengths, damn near every minute, to get to the real soul of this material. |
| 258631 | Chris Bumbray | JoBlo's Movie Network | Fresh | — | 2026-09-03T16:04:37.000Z | 2026-09-03 16:04:37 | Entertaining, even if it blurs the line between Hollywood fantasy and reality. |
| 258632 | Nick Schager | The Daily Beast | Rotten | — | 2026-09-03T16:02:08.000Z | 2026-09-03 16:02:08 | Wahlberg’s nose isn’t the element that truly undoes By Any Means. It is, however, emblematic of a perpetually posturing project that’s all look-at-me surface and no substance. |
| 258614 | Simon Foster | Screen-Space (Substack) | Fresh | 4/5 | 2026-09-03T11:15:09.000Z | 2026-09-03 11:15:09 | Abdul-Mateen makes Strider’s turmoil tangible in a morally complex film that captures a man and his country at a flashpoint of realisation. |
Showing the latest 100 canonical reviews for this movie.