The Next Man (1976) User Reviews

Soft Brown Eyes

[slightlymad22 · 6/10 · 18 May 2017]

The Next Man (1976)

Plot In A Paragraph: Influential Arab diplomat (Connery) becomes the target of numerous assassination attempts, when he announces his plan to make peace with Israel by letting them join the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

I kind of wish Connery never made this one, as it is sandwiched in the middle of five great performances (3 before and the 2 that follow)

Playing The Saudi Arabian Minister Of State, but still doing nothing to change his natural accent, Connery kind of phones this one in. There is a sequence in the Bahamas, where he suddenly turns into 007 briefly.

Cornelia Sharpe is gorgeous as the freelance assassin Connery falls in love with. Other than that, there is not a lot to say about this one. Except the phrase "soft brown eyes" which is a line I remembered from seeing this in the 80's.

The Next Man tanked hard at the domestic box office and the DVD I bought was annoyingly expensive too.

Motives in the dark

[manuel-pestalozzi · 6/10 · 10 August 2007]

I watched a DVD version of this movie, called The Arab Conspiracy, a pretty choppy affair in several aspects. Yet, I felt well entertained. Cornelia Sharpe stands out as the most efficient and deadly contract killer I have ever seen, a kind of a Mutant Mata Hari. And she looks it too, like someone you really do not want to mess with, if it can be avoided.

From a historical and political viewpoint the story is not entirely without interest. It is basically about Arab politicians who try to break away from the stalemate in the Middle East which persists up to the present day – and get bumped off one by one. Sean Connery plays a Saudi aristocrat who as the envoy of his country has the audacity to propose an integration of Isreal and that country's economical and scientific know-how into the region – signing herewith his death penalty.

I find it notable that this movie was released three years before the Camp David agreements, five years before Egyptian president Anwar as-Sadat's assassination. One could even say it was prophetic. It must also be noted, and I give the movie credit for this, that the motives of all protagonists (not least the deadly female) are left pretty much in the dark. The victims of the mentioned murders seem to be anything but selfless idealists. Connery's character appears to be primarily a gambler and a pleasure-seeker. It is insinuated that underneath all what happens and can be seen there lies a highly complex structure of power relations and interdependencies, like a fungus, that cannot be overlooked in its whole by any of the protagonists. Maybe that is the curse of the Middle East.

Pedestrian thriller which has a good plot but doesn't quite go anywhere with it.

[barnabyrudge · 5/10 · 4 August 2006]

Sean Connery has to be admired for refusing to allow his box office reputation to dictate the film roles that he has chosen over the years. Many stars accept the scripts that they believe will result in financially successful films. While Connery has made more than his fair share of box office hits, he has also been in quite a few films that did not do huge business during their cinematic run. Connery's attitude has always been that he chooses roles that INTEREST him; perhaps roles that he finds challenging as an actor, or roles that require a certain amount of emotional depth and research. In The Next Man, a 1976 thriller from director Richard C. Sarafian, Connery assumes the unlikely but effective role of a Saudi Arabian statesman with a revolutionary political idea that places his life in grave danger. The film itself is nothing special, being a pedestrian-paced political thriller with a double-edged romantic subplot, but what is fascinating is watching big Sean playing this visionary idealist with such aplomb. It is a shame that the actor and the character were not given a more interesting film in which to appear!

Following three assassinations of Middle Eastern politicians, Khalil Abdul Muhsen (Sean Connery) is appointed by the Saudi Arabian king as the country's ambassador to the United Nations. Muhsen soon has many an Arab heart skipping a beat as he makes a stirring speech to the UN assembly, outlining his revolutionary plan to forge a co-operative agreement between Saudi Arabia and Israel in the production of petroleum. Formerly bitter enemies, Muhsen envisages that the Saudis and the Israelis will unite and create an oil-producing alliance capable of replacing OPEC. His optimistic ideas are met with great opposition from some quarters of the Arab community and it is not long before Muhsen's life is in jeopardy. Little does he realise that a female assassin has been placed on his trail with instructions to seduce then eliminate him. The assassin, Nicole Scott (Cornelia Sharpe), captures the heart of the Arabian statesman and allows him to romance her as she waits for the order to erase him. But gradually she seems to fall in love with her target. when the time comes, will she follow her professional orders or her heart?

Little suspense is generated regarding the dilemma facing Sharpe's character. Although Muhsen is perfectly likable, especially as portrayed by Connery, not enough is made of the relationship between politician and assassin to generate the necessary sympathies. In the closing scenes, when Sharpe may or may not be about to kill her man, there is no particular level of interest or excitement. The film is quite a globe-trotting affair, with various exotic locales nicely lensed by the ever-reliable Michael Chapman. The script (worked on by four collaborators) jumps around somewhat messily, especially in the early stages, but Richard C. Sarafian manages to keep the plot just about understandable. However, it is important to note that the film exists in a couple of severely edited versions known as Double Hit and The Arab Conspiracy, both of which are so clumsily shortened that they are all but impossible to follow. If you are planning on watching this film at all, at least pay it the service of seeing the full length version which, while not without its flaws, is at least half-decent.

Mildly entertaining.

[ItalianGerry · 4 June 2004]

(Spoilers ahead) "The Next Man" is a mildly entertaining if totally unlikely story with Sean Connery as a Saudi Arabian emissary to the UN who threatens to disband OPEC and seek peace with Israel. Understandably, he becomes the subject of assassination attempts. Cornelia Sharpe, looking like a photocopy of Faye Dunaway, is an undercover agent who, like a spider, uses sex as a preliminary to devouring her mate. In an early scene she coolly allows Adolfi Celi to suffocate to death with a plastic bag tied around his head while she blithely takes a shower. She, of course, falls seriously in love with Connery and goes through pangs of conscience before doing him in at point-blank rage at the end.

Had the film dealt more seriously with the political and dramatic issues at hand, a la Costa Gavras, it could have been much better and not nearly so preposterous. Richard C. Sarafian directed the less-than-brilliant concoction.

Why did Connery do this?

[LebowskiT1000 · 3/10 · 22 June 2003]

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.

Deserving to be buried and forgotten

[rekiwi · 3/10 · 25 May 2000]

I found "The Arab Conspiracy" in a bargain bin and thought I'd uncovered a lost treasure. Folks, there's a reason why you don't hear much about this film. The plot is muddy, the pacing is slow, Cornelia Sharpe is about as vivacious as plain, cold tofu, and the ending leaves you flat. Not even Sean Connery can save this one.

The DVD looks as if they copied an old VHS tape to it and Sean Connery plays a Saudi....'nuff said.

[planktonrules · 5/10 · 23 February 2021]

"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.

Not a great film, but if you can imagine Connery as an Arab..

[MovieBuff63 · 7/10 · 7 February 2006]

It has an interesting plot, and a political message. Imagine the Saudis sending a man of peace to the UN, to change OPEC. Other than that, it resembles Day of the Jackal in some respects, and Cornelia Sharpe is dazzling. Scenes of New York prior to 9/11 are always poignant, and Connery does a fine job. His "conversion" sparks a multitude of organizations to try to stop him from doing further damage. There is much to look at, and the pace is fast. I enjoyed his pleasure at confronting the UN members from the Mid-East who were outraged by his refusal to parrot the OPEC line. There is always a "next man"... or woman...who has a mission to perform.

Sean is good, Cornelia is cute, the movie is an uninteresting conspiracy stint

[vostf · 2/10 · 17 October 2006]

This is a case of a bunch of people thinking they are so clever they have a story that fits the time. Remember the all-around political conspiracies caught on camera in the years leading to the Watergate and a little later? Most movies trying to cash in on made-for-TV 'o so powerful, o so mind numbing' conspiracies were in fact caught in their own navel-gazing attitude.

I was never a fan of The Conversation which I find as much dated as others conspiracy stints of the time but Coppola was true to his main character and Hackman was a pretty engaging actor to observe. I mean these conspiracy movies are mostly drowning in the character pool of noir heroes. Lots of questions unanswered, lots of dis-communication... Well this takes at least Bergman to build a movie about such un-visual bases.

The Next Man is a perfect example of its time: one political soup served with an idealistic character and an horrendous conspiracy tightening its web around him. Neither part is interesting in itself and the whole doesn't get any better. In fact you can tell how much it will be bad from the very first sequences piling up 'watcha that' murders without ever advancing any storyline. Pedestrian directing at its worst as most of the movie is one pompous accumulation of scenes revolving around violence naively brought under the viewer's eyes.

As good as it could be

[neil-douglas2010 · 6/10 · 22 May 2023]

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.

overall, a disappointing movie

[mjrdundee · 2/10 · 30 December 2007]

The movie had a lot of potential, unfortunately, it came apart because of a weak/implausible story line, miscasting, and general lack of content/substance. One of the very obvious flaws was that Sean Connery, who played an Arab man, didn't know how to pronounce his own Arab name! This may seem a small flaw but it points to the seeming lack of effort in paying attention to details. The quality of acting was uniformly well below average.

Movie's solitary saving grace was the twist in the plot at the very end; and a french song (I don't recall the title). Overall, it was a pretty bad movie where Sean Connery was visibly miscast.

A decent B-movie, Remarkably prophetic

[CorumJI · 8/10 · 14 December 2008]

The remarkable thing about this movie is that it was fully conceived, filmed, and released *before* Anwar Sadat and the Camp David Accords, and, in its own way, echoes the events in its own future. If you are too young to remember these events, then I recommend you look it up in Wikipedia... Then realize that this movie did not follow that history, it preceded it.

Not much should be expected of the movie, it is a definite B-movie from Connery's lower-rent period, when he did a lot of doubtful pictures following his "Never Again" appearance in "Diamonds Are Forever", and before his talent, so evident in his early, pre-Bond pictures, was re-recognized by critics and fans alike.

It is a decent and effective, if not surprising picture, and Connery himself does an effective job as an Arab leader seeking to end the strife with Israel, against substantial political opposition. At the time, the whole idea of it seemed preposterously far in the future, but in reality, the Camp David Accords were less than 4 years away.

Next!

[gridoon2024 · 6/10 · 25 February 2016]

Most of "The Next Man" consists of small talk between Sean Connery and Cornelia Sharpe, or big speeches given by Connery at the U.N. building, interspersed with a few random scenes of violence. This political thriller is mostly drab and disjointed, but it gets some extra points for its typically 1970s bleak and pessimistic ending. Sean Connery is miscast but still retains some of his charisma; Cornelia Sharpe has sharp (pun intended) features - she's not exactly beautiful, but she is striking. One of Connery's least-known and seen films, good luck finding a decent copy to watch, as my DVD version (and apparently all others) are of bargain-basement quality. **1/2 out of 4.

Shaken not Stirred

[kapelusznik18 · 5/10 · 16 September 2016]

***SPOILERS***Stink bomb of a movie with actor Sean Connery as handsome and dashing but not too bright Saudi Arabian diplomat Khaial Abual-Muhsen or just KAM for short stirring up a hornet nest in suggesting that the Arab World make peace with its eternal enemy the Jewish State of Israel in order to bring both peace and prosperity to the explosive and volatile Middle-East. KAM is not only attacked by his fellow Arabs but the Jews and Israelis as well for either being nuts or a traitor or both in that no one-Jew or Arab-believes for a moment what the heck he's talking about;or that he may have just lost his mind in him staying out, without a hat or head dress, in the hot Arabian sun for too long.

This all sets off a number of political assassination by Arab extremists of Arab diplomats who go along with KAH's plan and makes him a prime target of not only his fellow Arabs but the Israiles who feel he's really trying to have Israel drop its guard by believing him and setting itself up for another Yom Kipper like sneak attack that he's really planning for.In fact there's an attack on KAH while vacationing in the Bahamas by what looks like Arab or Palestine terrorist as he's frisking around in bed with his girlfriend Nicole Scott, Cornelia Sharpe. It was Nicole who feel in love with KAH when she heard him give a spellbinding speech about peace in the Middle-East to a barley awake assembly of UN diplomats.It's the gun toting Nicole who ends up saving his life by blowing away one of the terrorists who was just about to blow him away in the attack in the Bahamas!

***SPOILERS*** It's back in NYC that a major assassination attempt is made on KAH that backfired during a both major anti Arab and anti Israeli demonstration that ends up killing 15 people with KAH by sneaking out the back of the Saudi Arabian embassy again escaping death. It's later that KAH's luck finally runs out with his girlfriend Nicole Scott who's actually working for the PLO-Palestine Liberation Organization-after shooting her partner, the limousine driver, who was about to rub out a stunned KAH then turns the gun on him after telling the big jerk, who should have known better, what beautiful brown eyes he has!

Lesser Connery Effort in Flat 'Romance'...

[cariart · 25 March 2004]

SPOILERS! IF YOU PLAN TO WATCH THIS TURKEY, BEWARE!

Sean Connery had been on an incredible 'roll', beginning with the all-star 'whodunit', MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS, in 1974. A so-so suspense film (twenty years ahead of it's time) about airline terrorism, RANSOM, followed, then THE WIND AND THE LION, THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING, and ROBIN AND MARIAN, in rapid succession. Three 'classics' in a row, and the international press were hailing Connery as the world's greatest actor, a gratifying title to an actor many claimed would be 'typecast' forever as James Bond, just four years earlier.

Then came THE NEXT MAN, ending the string of hits...

THE NEXT MAN wasn't the worst movie Connery would ever make (I'd nominate THE AVENGERS for that honor, though METEOR also has it's supporters), but the story, of a professional 'hit woman' who seduces her victims into falling in love with her before she 'offs' them, just wasn't of a caliber of his previous work, and sparked snide comments that the Scot actor would do "anything for money".

The film's star, Cornelia Sharpe, was an attractive actress of average talent, better known for her nude pictorials in Playboy than for her film work. As a cold-blooded assassin, she was only truly effective in the early part of the film, strangling Adolfo Celi (best known as 'Emilio Largo' in THUNDERBALL) with a plastic bag, in a rather distasteful sequence.

Her next 'assignment' would be Arab diplomat Khalil Abdul-Muhsen (Connery), whose peace overtures towards Israel were alarming radical Arab leaders. She takes on the job methodically, winning his confidence with off-handed ease, and beginning her standard seduction.

But Connery is funny, charismatic, and a visionary, exuding his trademark sex appeal so effortlessly that the film becomes a full-fledged love story, with montages so blatantly romantic that they might have been 'lifted' from LOVE STORY, itself (watch for an ice-skating sequence; Connery skates VERY well!)

The film climaxes as Connery delivers an decisive speech at the U.N. about the need for brotherhood between peoples, a scene so powerful that you wonder why it is in THIS film...then she poisons him, whispering about his "beautiful eyes" as he dies, leaving audiences feeling totally flattened.

Even a twist at the end of the film, promising justice would be served, couldn't make up for the letdown of Connery's death, even if it should have been expected.

The film bombed, and was quickly pulled from theaters. Fortunately, Sean Connery's next film, A BRIDGE TOO FAR, about WWII's Operation Market-Garden, would offer one of his best performances, and THE NEXT MAN misfire would soon be forgotten. The same could not be said for Cornelia Sharpe, however; her career quickly evaporated, with only a handful of roles in the nearly thirty years since THE NEXT MAN was released.

This is one Connery film you MAY want to skip!

Boring!

[RodrigAndrisan · 4/10 · 6 March 2024]

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.

A drama for our time

[guyvan-18863 · 8/10 · 13 March 2024]

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!