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The Organization (1971)

Rate: 4
Viewed: 2/22

Organiz
2/22: For the longest time, I never knew there were two sequels to In the Heat of the Night: They Call Me MISTER Tibbs! and The Organization.

Having seen the first two plenty of times, I hadn't gotten around the third until now. Well, it's a bad movie. Initially, I thought the filmmakers lost control of the big picture, but I concluded the plot got too complicated for its own good, especially the little details. I couldn't make heads or tails of what's going on. So, forget about it.

As usual, Sidney Poitier is great, but this time, I feel he was treated as an handler. It's stupid and not what I want to see. I came to the film with the expectation of him solving a murder mystery case just like the previous two outings and it should be all about him.

Interestingly enough, Sidney Poitier is in the same room with Ron O'Neal of future Super Fly fame. Talk about contrasts of two icons. Then, Sidney Poitier gets to punch his lights out. Maybe if Youngblood should've politely addressed him as "Mister Tibbs" to start off on the right foot. Anyway, Ron O'Neal looks better with his mustache on.

There are a lot of stupid moments. At the beginning, the criminals wear saran wrap on their faces yet are able to breathe. The front gate is blown up but still looks intact afterwards. What's the point of the Asian woman running so fast to catch the train? Later, the leaders of the organization are reading their lines rapidly from a piece of paper on the phone, but they make no sense whatsoever.

Tibbs has a man-to-man talk with his son about sex, but it's not followed through that well. His wife never throws a hissy fit after being ordered, not once but several times, to make a sandwich for him. In the long run, it doesn't seem the urban revolutionaries had their scheme figured out as all have been either caught or killed. At the end, I'm left hanging with unresolved questions after the assassination of two mob killers.

All in all, I hate it when Sidney Poitier is wasted, and that's the case in The Organization.