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Mark Wahlberg's new crime thriller, By Any Means, has stunned audiences on Rotten Tomatoes.
In the historical movie set in 1966, Wahlberg portrays the real-life hitman turned FBI informant, Greg Scarpa, who works with an FBI agent (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) to solve a civil rights-era murder case in Mississippi. Ahead of its release, By Any Means split critics and landed at 55% on Rotten Tomatoes. However, the voice that matters the most is that of audiences, who have now viewed the drama in theaters.
With over 250 ratings, By Any Means earned a strong 87% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, a stark contrast to the critical reception. If it holds, the movie ties with Ambulance as Abdul-Mateen's second-highest audience score in his career.
Meanwhile, By Any Means audience score would end Wahlberg's poor Rotten Tomatoes streak, as his last three movies — Balls Up, The Family Plan 2, and Play Dirty — had polarized viewers. It also narrowly cracked his top 10 highest-rated audience scores in his career, tying with Lone Survivor.
In By Any Means reviews, there is a divide on certain areas, like Wahlberg's performance and the movie's genre tone. Despite the movie's historical nature, some reviews emphasized that the serious themes get lost in the more generic revenge story. Although Abdul-Mateen's grounded performance was praised, Wahlberg's has polarized critics and pundits for his over-the-top portrayal as Scarpa. As a result, the mismatched chemistry between the two leads causes the movie to feel lost in its identity.
Although critics highlight the story and direction issues, audiences feel the opposite, appreciating the story's historical significance, fun action, and Wahlberg's energetic aura.
By Any Means is now playing in theaters.
Release Date September 4, 2026
Runtime 107 Minutes
Director Elegance Bratton
Writers Sascha Penn
English (US) ·