Darren Aronofsky is back — and he’s having a ball (pardon the pun).

With “Caught Stealing,” the director trades in the somber, heavy-handed introspection of “The Whale” or existential horror of “The Black Swan” for a fever-pitched, blood-soaked noir that barrels through late-1990s New York with the same morbid wit and frantic intensity that made his earlier work so gripping.

Adapted by author Charlie Huston from his own 2004 cult crime novel, this is a wild, violent ride packed with style, swagger and surprisingly tender moments.

The film’s title is more than just a clever pun. In baseball, “caught stealing” refers to a runner tagged out while trying to sneak to the next base — a high-risk, high-reward gamble. That metaphor is baked into every reckless decision Hank (Austin Butler) makes. A washed-up baseball star turned alcoholic bartender, Hank is constantly trying to outrun his past — and failing, spectacularly.

Butler delivers a knockout performance. With wide-eyed innocence and aching, internalized grief, he makes Hank someone you can’t look away from — or help rooting for. Whether staggering through nightmare flashbacks or fumbling through real-time disasters, Butler captures both the physical toll and emotional decay of a man circling the drain.

The chaos begins when Hank agrees to cat-sit for his punk-rock neighbor Russ — a mohawked, chaotic, and unexpectedly tender character brought to life by Matt Smith, who plays him with an intoxicating mix of menace and charm. That one small favor catapults Hank into a violent underworld of Russian mobsters, Orthodox Jewish gangsters, crooked cops, and escalating bad luck.

Academy Award winner Regina King, as NYPD detective Elise Roman, brings sharp comedic timing and deadpan delivery to the role of Hank’s no-nonsense interrogator. She seems to be having the time of her life playing a “bad cop” who slices through Hank’s B.S. with surgical precision. Their scenes together crackle with an uneasy chemistry — she may be the only one who truly sees him, other than his late-night/early morning visitor and paramedic girlfriend, played by a seductive and multi-layered Zoe Kravitz who is as magnetic a screen presence as ever.

One of the film’s most delightful surprises is the phenomenal Carol Kane as Bubbe, the sweet, nurturing — and terrifyingly wise — mother of the Orthodox Hasidic gangsters (played hilariously and menacingly by Liev Schreiber and Vincent D’Onofrio). Speaking only in Yiddish, Kane brings a subtle comic gravity to the film, balancing gentleness with steely resolve. She may not raise her voice, but you know she runs the room.

The villains across the board are deeply entertaining. Russian mobsters played by Nikita Kukushkin and Yuri Kolokolnikov are deadpan psychos with a comedic edge. Latin music star Bad Bunny turns in a scene-stealing performance as Colorado, a flamboyant crime boss whose presence is as unpredictable as his wardrobe. Each baddie is capable of jaw-dropping violence, but they’re never cartoonish — they’re weird, complex, and darkly funny, which keeps the film teetering between horror and hilarity.

That balancing act — between gore and comedy — is straight out of the Quentin Tarantino playbook. There are echoes of “Pulp Fiction” and “Jackie Brown” in the macabre humor, sudden violence, and character-driven tension. Aronofsky gleefully leans into the carnage, crafting shootouts, stabbings, and bizarre standoffs with a wink and a wince.

The late-1990s setting is more than a backdrop; it’s a vibe. Punk and hardcore tracks fuel the energy. Flip phones and answering machines rattle with nostalgia. A perfectly placed clip from “The Jerry Springer Show” serves as both time capsule and thematic mirror. Aronofsky and his team don’t just reference the era — they live in it, grime and all.

And there’s a respectful nod to Martin Scorsese’s “After Hours” in the film’s structure and tone — the endless night, the spiraling desperation, and the strange, liminal world of late-night New York. That homage is made explicit with the cherry-on-top appearance of Griffin Dunne — the star of “After Hours” — as Paul, the grizzled bar owner who gives Hank refuge and, occasionally, wisdom in a bottle.

If there’s a flaw, it’s that Hank occasionally seems to recover from trauma a bit too easily — a moment of emotional whiplash that slightly blunts the film’s black-comic edge. Even as the tough guy he is, it is sometimes a little implausible to think Hank does so well with some of the injuries he incurs. But even in those slips, the energy never flags.

“Caught Stealing” is a whirlwind of blood, baseball, betrayal, and bizarre human connection. It swings big, often wildly, but when it connects — and it frequently does — it hits with the kind of exhilarating, bone-rattling impact that reminds you why you love movies like this.

Just like Hank, it’s not going for home runs — it’s trying to steal bases. And more often than not, it gets away with it.

“Caught Stealing” opens Aug. 29 in theaters and is rated R. Running time is 107 minutes.