By Any Means Review: By all means mediocre
As a big fan of Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Civil Rights-era dramas, I liked the idea of combining those two elements in a crime flick. I hoped it'd explore themes of rising up as an underdog and anti-establishment resistance. So, as somebody excited for this film, did it live up to the hype? That's what I, Brighton Nelson of The Reel Ranker, will be discussing in today's review.
Let's start with the positives. Mateen and Wahlberg both deliver great performances, and their back-and-forth chemistry and its nuances are the best part of this film. Mateen brings weight, gravitas, and nuance through his multifaceted exploration of what it's like to be part of the FBI while navigating discrimination and staying within the bounds of the legal system. Wahlberg delivers a psychotic, unfiltered persona that leaves a lot of morally gray feelings, juxtaposed with Strider's heroism.
I love the balance here between realism and his protection of his ally. He's by no means a moral paragon, but he's also not a moral monolith. This is one of my favorite Wahlberg performances... he's always been an actor that I've never quite understood the hype around—not that he's bad!—but I finally got the hype here, and that made me happy because I've always felt bad. Overall, their wry humor and chemistry added a lot to a very dark yet hope-filled era.
The moments with Giancarlo Esposito as a civil rights leader stand out as standout sequences and performances. Nicole Beharie also delivers a wonderful performance, anchoring the stakes and adding nuance to how far one can, and should, go to change society.
The film's technical aspects are also great, from the era-capturing cinematography to how it all comes together to create a captivating setting. And the best part? Who doesn't want a film that's about destroying evil KKK racists? Because you get this here in delicious spades.
However, the negatives unfortunately win for this movie. While I didn't mind the blend of prestige crime drama and buddy cop banter, I did dislike the constant theme that the mobster told the main character, "you don't know how the world works," even though the very method the main character believed in was morally right and the most strategically sound. I know it kind of was trying to draw parallels between Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. Still, it doesn't make sense for the movie to beat you to a pulp with the idea that was literally disproven by history itself, especially in the context that the white guy is shown to be right in a movie that isn't really about anything to do with his life.
This odd thought process also leads into a bizarre territory where the movie was disingenuously attempting to create fictional lore for a real human and being far too loose with the "inspired by real events" labeling. It's one thing to have real political leaders be background text or side characters in a film, but here, I felt a little scammed by the end. The film takes a sensational Hollywood approach in some detrimental ways.
Because the moral code left a lot to be desired and it tried to pass itself off as reality, I eventually got bored. Lots of needless moral dilemmas, incredibly underdeveloped villains that had nothing to them besides racism, and boring yet rampant violence that should've felt more satisfying given the fact they were giving racists their comeuppance (One Scoop of Chocolate earlier this year did that right).
The Reel Ranker Verdict
Reel or Unreel? - Reel
The Reel Ranker Score: 45%
Letter Score: C
Star Ranking: 2.5 out of 5
By Any Means isn't a horrible movie, by any means. Yet it lacks a soul and is bogged down by odd philosophies that contradict the very kind of film they were trying to make. It invents things about real people and never really gets past generic villains and a convoluted moral code.
Interested in checking out some recent reviews for some other thriller, crime, and drama films? See them below!
Brighton Nelson
Brighton Nelson
Brighton Nelson
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