Meurtre pour un homme seul

I was able to watch the remastered version on YouTube. The original theatrical release was mangled by small cuts, 18 minutes of them, and panned by critics. Even the restored version is not really a great film...but it is a very well made political and social drama, like SYRIANA. And so pertinent to today's world. Should be watched for that reason alone. Sean Connery plays a great Arab, like he did in Wind and the Lion (I know, that character was a Berber). Cornelia Sharpe is exquisite. If you blink a few times, you imagine we are in Bond territory again, especially when they go to the Bahamas. Highly recommend!

"The Next Man" is an obscure Sean Connery film from Allied Artists...and its financial failure might just be why it was the studio's final release. The copy I saw was on a DVD from Netflix...one that looks just like it was duplicated from an old VHS tape....so in addition to a poor picture quality, there are no DVD extras.

The story begins with a shot of the Twin Towers in New York....which is a bit ironic considering the film's content. In the space of just a few minutes in the film, three different important Middle East politicians are assassinated. Soon, a Saudi diplomat, Khalil Abdul-Muhsen (Sean Connery) arrives at the UN to give a speech. The speech seems to shock everyone when he calls for an end to OPEC nations supporting terror and proposes his country leave OPEC if it continues. He also then proposes the seemingly impossible....peace with Israel!! Surely Khalil has a death wish....and soon American officials are fearing for his life. Can he survive this hate...as well as the assassin to which he has found himself falling for after he meets her?

The weird thing about this movie is the casting of Scottish actor Sean Connery in the lead. While he looks a bit like the part he's supposed to play, he sure doesn't sound like a Saudi! And, I am pretty sure this as some of the reason the film faced such an icy reception when it debuted. He's enjoyable and a fine actor...but wrong for the part.

Aside from this silly casting decision and a poor DVD dupe, is "The Next Man" worth seeing? Well, despite having a seemingly impossible premise, it is nice to see a film that gives a slight glimmer of hope to Middle East peace.....that's a nice plus. But the story itself seemed to be missing something...mostly fully three dimensional characters. A nice attempt but a film that just doesn't quite score.

Sean Connery as an Arab doesn't bother me, I've seen him as a Spaniard, Russian, Irishman, even an English Agent, though very rarely a Scotsman. This is an interesting film as it could only end one way, even if it's heart is in the right place. Sean plays Abdul Muhsen, the new delegate from Saudi Arabia at the UN. He has great ideas about inviting Israel into a new kind of OPEC, which infuriates some Arab countries. He gets romantically involved with Nicole Scott (Cornelia Sharpe), but we know her back story.

This should've been better, but somewhat silly scenes lower it overall score a wee bit.

I'm usually not one to say that a film is not worth watching, but this is certainly an extenuating circumstance. The only true upside to this film is Cornelia Sharpe, looking rather attractive, and the fact that this film is REALLY short.

The plot in the film is unbelievably boring and goes virtually nowhere throughout the film. None of the characters are even remotely interesting and there is no reason to care about anyone. I'm not sure why on earth Sean Connery agreed to do this film, but he should have definitely passed on this one.

The only reason I could see for seeing this film is if you are a die-hard Sean Connery fan and simply want to see everything he's done. Save this one for last though.

Well, if you by some miracle end up seeing this despite my review (or any of the other reviews on this site), then I hope you enjoy it more than I did. Thanks for reading.

Two of my very dear actors, Sean Connery and Adolfo Celi, after the extraordinary "Thunderball", reunited in "The Next Man". But, unfortunately, Adolfo Celi only has one line, after which he is killed at the beginning of the film and we don't see him again. After she takes off her panties, a sign that she will make love to him, Cornelia Sharpe does something completely different, as you will see in the movie. Someone wrote on YouTube where I saw the film that it is "an explosive action film". It is not explosive at all, not in the action sense. There are 4 explosions at the end, some bombs placed in diplomatic briefcases explode, but the rest of the movie is just boring chatter. Except for the assassination attempt on the island and the coup de grace given at the very end in the car. What I don't understand is how a woman (Cornelia Sharpe's character) can make love to a man (Sean Connery's character) and then kill him. I think she came to love him in turn, but for a lot of money, you do anything. Sharpe, in Romanian, means snake.