7 Movie Gangsters Who Tried To Go Straight (But Got Pulled Back In)

Michael Corleone – The Godfather

All Michael Corleone ever wanted was a life free from the family business. But fate forced him back in time and time again. This is especially true in The Godfather Part 3, when he hands off all criminal dealings to a longtime associate and sells off his gambling interests to the other Mafia families. It’s when he gets in bed with the Vatican that his luck takes a terrible turn.

His shady associates and new business partners make multiple attempts on his life, forcing him to protect his family by setting his men on them. In the end, he successfully leaves the life but pays a steep price to do so.

Tetsuya “Phoenix Tetsu” Hondo – Tokyo Drifter

Believe it or not, Tokyo Drifter is not about hydroplaning cars. The film follows Tetsuya, a member of the Yakuza gang whose membership comes to an end when his boss decides that he and his syndicate are leaving the world of crime. It’s then that a rival gang leader tries and fails to recruit Tetsuya. Afraid that Tetsuya might screw up a large real estate scam, his former boss asks him to go away and not bug anybody. He agrees and adopts the drifter lifestyle until his rivals and former boss send an assassin after him. Then he’s all like, “Hell nah!” In the quiet, precise Japanese way.