Boring, long, and too preachy.

An Exercise In Nonsense

I saw this movie before reading any reviews, and I thought it was very funny. I was very surprised to see the overwhelmingly negative reviews this film received from critics.

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

You can't teach new tricks to an old dog especially if the oldie's name is Don Medford. Don was an excellent TV director, but as a director of feature films like "The Organization", he was unteachable. Mr. Medford didn't have the slightest idea what a reverse angle was, but he did know how to say, "No way, José!", if his cameraman suggested one. Mr. Medford's favorite shot was a close-up. To Medford, a really good movie was one composed almost entirely of close-ups. I'll admit that this suited the requirements of TV right down to the ground. On a big screen, however, it looks both ugly and ridiculous. Each scene in a Medford film is composed of a multiplicity of close-ups, haphazardly strung together in an extremely jerky and often bewildering manner. It's even hard to identify the baddies, due to Medford's erratic style. There is, however, one scene in this movie that Medford actually got right – or maybe he was away that day? I refer to the excitingly staged and handled shoot-out in the excavation tunnel. Alas, in keeping with the pedestrian and inappropriate direction, the music score is one of the most deliriously unsuitable and loudly obtrusive we have heard for some time.

Ah, the 70's. Big guns, bigger cars and acknowledgements that *GASP!* police departments have black people too. Close on the heels of Isaac Hayes as Shaft, there was Sidney Poitier as Mister Tibbs. Both starred in a number of films based around their characters, although Poitiers tended to be slightly more realistic in nature (What with them being directly made with the assistance of the local force) and with less wanton violence.That doesn't mean they were immune to suffering from cliché-itis, though. So you have the usual schtick where the bad guys turn out to be the good guys, endless chase sequences through crowded streets and of course... The 'pivotal' moment where Tibbs has to hand over his gun and badge due to him being suspected of corruption. It may not be the movie's fault that such scenes have been done to death over 40 years, but it is what it is.Poitier keeps things ticking over nicely with his usual reliable screen presence, and the sparse family moments he shares with his wife and son are a nice touch... Although, too brief to really be that effective. Overall, it's an interesting look at a Gene Hunt era of law enforcement which is long since past (for better or worse) but in terms of entertainment, very, very average. 5/10

While investigating a corporate break-in, San Francisco Police Detective "Virgil Tibbs" (Sidney Portier) discovers that the suspects are in reality a group of revolutionaries bent on destroying a drug cartel known as "The Organization." Without permission from his superiors, "Tibbs" begins to work with the revolutionaries. They work their own ways, "Tibbs" working within police regulations, but still together.This is a pretty well written movie, but with some slight flaws in performances. The pacing of the movie is slow, but well paced.The stand out performance is easily Portier. This is the third movie where he portrays "Tibbs," of which he is probably best known for. He plays "Tibbs" two ways in the film. First, he plays the cop. You actually believe that he is a veteran on the police force. "Tibbs" passion is his work, and Portier makes you believe it. He also plays "Tibbs" as a family man who obviously loves his family. We don't get to see a lot of this side of the character since the focus is on the case he is on.One problem with this movie is that the supporting characters is poorly presented. There is little to no development in the revolutionaries, and we don't get to see much of "The Organization" beyond the hired guns. I was also unimpressed with their on-screen chemistry with each other. Not one really stood out if you ask me. In fact, I felt that these characters would fit better in an early-1970's television series than in a major motion picture.When it comes to the soundtrack, it's typical 1970's movie music. Not one piece is memorable. However, some pieces of music was used quite well in scenes.The action is pretty toned down in this film, probably because of the time it was filmed. You get a lot of chases on foot, and one pretty forgettable car chase. You also get some gun play with little blood. There is little to no intensity in the action scenes. The only thing that makes these scenes intense is the music played over them.There is a pretty good, and unexpected twist at the end of the movie, and it's handled pretty well thanks to Portier's performance. I didn't see it coming. There is also some really good transition edits in this film that I thought were done nicely.Though not a perfect movie, it is enjoyable, mostly thanks to Portier's performance.If you ever catch this on HBO or the free section of your On Demand service, check it out if your regular show is either not on for alternative programming or in a rerun. I actually watched it on Hulu, and only had to deal with about two minutes of commercials, which were sometimes oddly placed.

***SPOILERS*** The third and final installment of the adventures of former Philadelphia detective Let. Virgil Tibbs, Sidney Poitier. Tibbs now a member of the SFDP homicide division gets in over his head in an effort to take on "The Organization" that's running both the city and State.In the movie Tibbs gets himself involved with this rag tag revolutionary group made up of former junkies or persons who had members of their family or friends end up dead because of using illegal drugs. Drugs that "The Organization"-through its army of drug pushers-supplied to them at a nifty profit for itself! The revolutionaries lead by street corner preacher Dave Thomas, Billy Green Bush, had raided one of "The Organization's" phony business fronts, the Century Furniture Co., used as a storage center for it's drug shipments. During the raid, where the revolutionary's ripped off $4,000,000.00 in heroin, the CEO of the company John J. Bishop, Johnny Haymer, was murdered. Not by the revolutionaries but by someone, or someones, who were afraid he'd talk to the police if it's found out that he's a front-man for "The Organization".Called to the scene of the break-in murder Tibbs senses that he's on to something big in that the night watchman George Morgan, Charles H. Gray, who was knocked out by the intruders is holding something back from the police. That something turned out to be the 4 million dollars in heroin that was taken from the plant! Tipped off to who did it, by the robbers themselves, Tibbs decides to find Bishop's killer on his own relying on the revolutionaries. The revolutionaries in them being suspected in both murder and kidnapping, of John J. Bishop, has Tibbs decide not to have his superiors on the SFPD know about what he's doing in working with them to find Bishop's killer! As well as his connection with "The Organization" who's suspected by Tibbs in having him killed!***SPOILERS*** Let. Tibbs against his better judgment gets himself involved with a bunch of mentally unstable,from being addicted to hard drugs, persons who end up almost getting him killed in his, very foolishly, trying to help them. This group of urban "freedom fighters", or vigilantes, fall apart as soon as "The Organization" puts the squeeze on them! Not that "The Organizaton" had that much on them, it didn't, but because the not too bright "freedom fighters", for the people, were so unable to keep a secret, the stolen 4 million in heroin, that it didn't take that long for "The Organization" to find out who they were and whack them! In fact they themselves, or some of them, tried to sell the drugs back to "The Organization" which tipped it off to just who were the people who stole it! As for Let. Tibbs he soon realized what a total schmuck he was but by then it was far too late for him to turn things around. In his putting both his job as well as life on the line, by him throwing in his lot with this bumbling gang of latter day Jesse Jameses, Tibbs threw it, his career as a policemen, in and was never seen or heard from again. In that there's was never another sequel to the Virgil Tibbs saga, this being the third and final installment, to come out of the Hollywood studios again!