Overview
- By Any Means opened Friday, Sept. 4 in U.S. theaters and centers on a fictional Black FBI agent paired with real‑life mob hitman Gregory Scarpa to investigate the 1966 murder of Vernon Dahmer.
- Critics broadly praise Elegance Bratton’s cinematography and Yahya Abdul‑Mateen II’s lead performance while describing the film’s tone as uneven and its action‑first approach as favoring spectacle over sober historical drama.
- Reviewers and outlets note the film is a loose adaptation: Scarpa was a real Colombo hitman who reportedly informed for the FBI, but Wayne Strider is a composite character and there is no corroborated evidence he worked with a Black handler.
- Publicity and production choices have drawn scrutiny because Mark Wahlberg researched Scarpa by meeting the Scarpa family, underwent visible physical transformation for the role, and the film shows graphic violence that earned an R rating.
- The film has prompted mixed responses from Dahmer’s relatives and critics who warn that fictional devices and vigilante framing could overshadow Vernon Dahmer’s legacy and spark wider conversation about how Hollywood dramatizes racial terror.