Gangster movies are usually inspired by the acts of outlaws, fervent anti-socials and by historical instances of organized crimes which include taking hostages, gang skirmishes, brutal tortures and explicit murders. Sometimes the plots of the gangster films are based upon the lives of real gangsters. In early movies, the gangsters of the films were portrayed as victims of circumstances and they had to die in the end which was usually a vehement death. The general public did not take lightly to the fact that the villains got away safely.

Nowadays the gangsters do not look like contextual victims. In new gangster movies, most of the gangsters are drawn into the dark underworld of crime due to the prospects of quick money, sometimes to settle some score and in rare cases, just to lash out their inner demons, where they are called psychotic killers. They are different from contract killers because many times a person resorts to contract killing due to extreme poverty while the psychotics kill just for fun.

Meanwhile the audience too has matured. This can be seen from the fact that in modern gangster films a gangster does not necessarily need to die. People have accepted that reality is far more gruesome and they find the realism of the modern gangster movies not much big deal. Many of them even like it. The gangster movies are of different types too. There are films showcasing the advent and the wane of a single infamous gangster while there are some who focus on the international gang of drug peddlers.

There are new gangster movies which portray the gangsters in a positive light. This feature is especially noticed in the case when the story is told from the gangster's point of view. Then there are movies where the story concentrates on the prisons. There are films on gangsters leading jailbreaks, both successful and unsuccessful. Many films show gangsters turning over a new leaf during the course of their term and eventually get reformed and released. There are also many films which show the exact opposite, such as a jailed gangster going berserk in the prison compound, injuring or even killing many prison mates.

Many new gangster films have been released this year, some of them are Animal Kingdom, Brooklyn's finest, The Killer Inside Me, The Killing Jar, Once Upon A Time In Mumbai, Outrage, and The Town. Gangster movies are not suitable for children as it can have several negative effects on them. There was an era in 1940s when gangster movies were extremely popular. Nowadays, though, due to introduction of varied genres of cinema, gangster movies are slowly losing their fizz. The directors need to look at this genre from a new angle, to redeem this old genre of cinema. Nevertheless, they continue to provide wholesome entertainment to a large section of people. Throughout the course of time, gangster movies have been evolving and will continue to evolve, as long as people find entertainment in them.