I think crime films being set only before the 00's make better sense, plot wise.

[Uncle Baby Billy]

For films in general, but crime dramas especially.

Stories where someone completely disappears or creates a completely fake identity make better sense before the digital era.
Also, getting away with outrageous crimes seems slightly more sensible when the police had more primitive tech.
I can go on for days with this regarding a lot of story tropes, like someone doing a dangerous act because other characters couldn't reach him on time (before cellphones).

Besides, Can't think of a current gang that's as interesting as old mobsters or 80's gangs.

 

[Sccit]

FACTS

 

[General Mills]

This is true

I’m currently doing a re read of the Jack Reacher books. He is a former military cop who once he got out the Army he lived off the grid and travels and gets into fukkery

He has no ties to anything. Used aliases. No address. No car. No bills. Etc. He pays cash at hotels and pays the clerk under the table for rooms, takes busses, hitchhikes. The whole 9.

When the series started it was in the late 90’s when all of this was possible. As the series progresses and 911 happens and the Patriot Act is in place. More technology. Camera phones. Big Brother is becoming harder to avoid. You see his struggle to remain anonymous book by book.

 

[PortCityProphet]

Agreed.
Now days they just use the ole my cell phone died trope like who phone be dying like that now days

 

[Notorious 1 E.Y.E.]

Agreed.
Now days they just use the ole my cell phone died trope like who phone be dying like that now days

You'd be surprised

 

[JamesJabdi]

yeah, them crime movies pre-2010's were fire.....can't make them same type of movies due to everything being digital.

They can make something about the credit card scammer or hushpuppy, but they wouldn't be as interesting since its all online shyt.....no shootouts.

 

[Gritsngravy]

I disagree
Stories like girl with dragon tattoo, mr robot, and the town works well

 

[Anton]

interesting take

 

[NobodyReally]

But people are still disappearing, catfishing, and doing crime in 2022.

 

[Who Not How]

The only way to do it is to set the movie in the future and create tech criminals/the protagonist can use to still get away. Present day America ain't realistic cuz like you said, the law will find your ass at this point of time.

 

[the elastic]

We don't need movies to be entertained by crime drama anymore

We got Instagram, drill music and YouTube documentaries

 

[NobodyReally]

Check out 2000's on. There's a long list.

List of fugitives from justice who disappeared - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Professor Emeritus]

I disagree
Stories like girl with dragon tattoo, mr robot, and the town works well

I haven't seen the film but the plot behind Girl with the Dragon Tattoo only worked because it revolved around a crime committed in the 1960s and thus the actual evidence to work with was far more limited.

Spoiler

If she had tried that in 2020 she never would have made it out of the country. The duel use of the identity definitely would have been tracked down at some point as the various people involved were investigated.

And the idea that the psycho killer had been regularly killing people ever since then was pretty unrealistic - I think there's zero chance someone that wealthy and well-known would be regularly bringing girls back to his place and them disappearing without it coming back on him eventually.

 

[Gritsngravy]

I haven't seen the film but the plot behind Girl with the Dragon Tattoo only worked because it revolved around a crime committed in the 1960s and thus the actual evidence to work with was far more limited.

Spoiler

If she had tried that in 2020 she never would have made it out of the country. The duel use of the identity definitely would have been tracked down at some point as the various people involved were investigated.

And the idea that the psycho killer had been regularly killing people ever since then was pretty unrealistic - I think there's zero chance someone that wealthy and well-known would be regularly bringing girls back to his place and them disappearing without it coming back on him eventually.

U have a point with that movie in particular but I still think crime could work in modern times, another example of this is gta 5 bank robbing plot
You can have a story based on hacking, you can still do drugs, you can still do gangs, robbing
Even human trafficking even though I’m not interested in human trafficking

 

[Professor Emeritus]

U have a point with that movie in particular but I still think crime could work in modern times, another example of this is gta 5 bank robbing plot
You can have a story based on hacking, you can still do drugs, you can still do gangs, robbing
Even human trafficking even though I’m not interested in human trafficking

You're 100% correct, there are "types" of movies you can do. I think what the OP is getting at is that a lot of what was built doesn't work anymore. It's like The Little Things being set in the 1990s because that's when it was originally written and even though it didn't get made until 20 years later, an updated plot wouldn't work due to the phone angles and other shyt.