‘By Any Means’ Necessary

When is it determined that something has crossed the line? Is there even a line to cross when others may not see the line? What if sometimes crossing that line is the only way to make sure an impact is made? That is the ongoing battle that Wayne Strider, played by Yahya Abdul Mateen-II, faces in the Paramount Pictures film “By Any Means.”

Wayne Strider is a young Black FBI agent who moved back home with his wife to Mississippi during the 1960s. Strider is very eager to prove his worth as an agent and make a real difference in his hometown that is filled with racial crime. He is a straight-shooter about doing things the right way and following the law.

However, due to being a black man, despite his job, Strider sees very little respect from some white Americans in his town. Based in the year 1966, the film does show there is an effort that President Lyndon B. Johnson wants no segregation and voting rights for African Americans to be enforced. 

While not all white Americans in Mississippi defied the new laws in place by the government, there was a large population filled with racism and hate that made efforts to stop African Americans ability to vote. This is depicted in the film as the Ku Klux Klan attacks and murders Vernon Dahmer Sr. (played by Giancarlo Esposito), a civil rights leader and head of the local NAACP.  

Dahmner was a real-life civil rights activist and important figure for the African American community. While the film “By Any Means” may not have shone enough light and importance of his impact, it does show his care for African American people having the right and ability to vote.

Dahmer made it known publicly he did whatever he can to get the community to vote whether he needed to pay for it himself. Strider was a supporter of Dahmer and both would have dinner together with their families just hours before Dahmer was murdered by the Klan. 

Dahmer was a major activist and public figure in Mississippi. His murder had now become a priority case to solve for the FBI. However this is a race crime in Mississippi, and during this time no one was forthcoming with information. In order to solve this case, different tactics must be used. 

Due to his familiarity of his home state Mississippi, Strider gets assigned the case which is an opportunity he has been waiting for. Despite this opportunity by his bosses at the FBI, he is assigned to partner out of towner Greg Scarpa played by Mark Wahlberg. 

Scarpa is a rough and tough hitman with possible mafia ties. He is by no means a FBI agent or police officer. He is the complete opposite of Strider in how he approaches gathering information. Being employed by the FBI off the record for several cases in the past including in Mississippi, confuses Strider as to how they allow his methods to be conducted. 

Scarpa essentially rides the coattails of breaking the law by harming any potential witness or suspects until they reveal any information. Strider is firmly against it and constantly debating the ideology of Scarpa’s ways.

Even though in the pursuit to find the killers of Dahmer they are interrogating racist men who may have been responsible for murder, Strider struggles to accept Scarpa’s method in extracting information. 

An interesting scene is when Scarpa directly challenges Strider in his thinking, and even references Malcom X as a true inspiration to the Black community for his views of how to approach racism in meeting force with force.

Describing turning the other cheek, which is commonly known as Dr. Martin Luther King’s standpoint, is not working. While Strider adamantly disagrees by saying the killing has to stop at some point, it still reinforces that sometimes you may need to approach things differently. 

Constantly going back and forth through the film “By Any Means,” at one point, Strider realizes that Scarpa may not be right, but he is also not wrong. To solve the case of a murdered public activist by white supremacists, Strider realizes you have to be willing to play by different rules.

It is a good watch for a film that is not based on a true story, but based on true events. It is a test of do you stay to your morals, or do you adapt and bend the rules for what may be the greater good. 

Cover Art/Yahya Abdul-Mateen II stars in Paramount Pictures’ “BY ANY MEANS.” | © 2026 PARAMOUNT PICTURES. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.