Tweekums
Back in the swinging sixties Austin Powers is the spy no woman can resist; he is also the arch-nemesis of the fiendish Doctor Evil. After Dr Evil's plot to kill Powers fails he has himself cryogenically frozen and launched into orbit. Knowing Evil will one day return Powers is also frozen until he is needed again. In the 90s Dr Evil returns so Powers is thawed out. They both discover that the world has changed significantly while they were away. Dr Evil's organisation is now a major legitimate corporation but he is still determined to hold the world to ransom. Powers has to discover that the era of free love has long gone and he is no longer God's gift to women. As Dr Evil sets his dastardly plans into motion Austen and his assistant Vanessa Kensington work to stop him.Sometimes spoof films are just embarrassing but thankfully this is lots of fun. It plays with the tropes of the genre in a delightful way. We have Dr Evil planning elaborate easy to escape methods for killing Powers while his son recommends just shooting him in the head and making a demand for what he thinks is a significant amount of money but which is trivial by the '90s. There are plenty of laughs to be had as the spy genre, and James Bond in particular, are delightfully spoofed. Some of the gags are a little but crude, but not overly so, and others are more clever; most notably when after two henchmen are killed we are shown how they are real people with family and friends rather than nobodies to be dispatched with a witty aside. Mike Myers impresses in the dual roles of Austin Powers and Dr Evil, Elizabeth Hurley is suitably sexy as Vanessa and Robert Wagner is fun as he plays Number Two in a relatively straight way. Seth Green is also good as Dr Evil's son. There are plenty of well-known faces, including Carrie Fisher, Christian Slater and Rob Lowe, in cameo roles. Overall I'd recommend this to anybody wanting a bit of a laugh; especially if you are a fan of the spy genre.
Python Hyena
Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997): Dir: Jay Roach / Cast: Mike Myers, Elizabeth Hurley, Robert Wagner, Seth Green, Mimi Rogers: They call him the international man of mystery perhaps for his ability to spellbind his female admirers. Satire of James Bond films beginning in 1967 where Austin Powers foils a world domination scheme by Dr. Evil who freezes himself and launches into space. Thirty years later Powers is thawed and given the task of stopping Dr. Evil again. Slapstick violence highlights the climax with use of a penis enlarger to tag on the double ending. Director Jay Roach exploits the Bond clichés with Dr. Evil making for a hilarious villain. Mike Myers embodies both Powers and Evil with great comic timing. Elizabeth Hurley plays an agent trying to maintain focus. Unfortunately the role is cardboard standard issue and never rises above being a simple sex tease. Her only real function is to be hit on by Powers. Robert Wagner steals scenes as agent Number Two in a role that also seems standard until he has a breakdown moment. Seth Green is terrific as Dr. Evil's son Scott who resents his dad and desires to be an animal vet. Mimi Rogers plays Austin's partner in the 1960's and Hurley turns out to be the product of their partnership. Highlighted with frozen images of celebrities past their prime resulting in a colourful laugh riot. Score: 7 ½ / 10
Wuchak
Mike Meyer's three Austin Powers flicks parody James Bond and the swinging 60s-70s. They are as follows: "Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery" (1997), "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me" (1999) and "Austin Powers in Goldmember" (2002). What's interesting about these films is that Austin Powers (the character) is not a full spoof of 007 as he's his own character, just with Bond-like qualities.Anyway, I wasn't sure I wanted to review any these flicks because, by doing so, I'm admitting that I actually watched them (lol)! I say this because they're so goofy, juvenile, silly, sometimes raunchy (more verbally than pictorially) and filled with toilet humor. So I was never a fan and didn't even watch any of them until 2009. What turned me off? Besides the toilet humor and raunch, Powers (the character) seemed to have a gayish quality despite being a renowned ladies man in the stories. A good example is when he says, "Oh, beHAAAve," which never struck me as funny, just gay.I've since seen all three twice and, despite my reservations about Powers and distaste for toilet humor, I do enjoy the zaniness and stoo-pid humor. If you can catch a grip with these films they're laugh-out-loud funny about a third of the time, sometimes more depending on the movie.The first one is my least favorite simply because it's the least funny IMHO. It seems like Meyers and his team were experimenting and feeling out the possibilities. With its box office success, the two sequels brim with more confidence and creativity and are just plain funnier IMHO.Best quote: "Riiiiiiigggghhhttt."The film runs 94 minutes and was shot in Southern California and Nevada. GRADE: C+
Mr.Film Reviews
Austin Powers has the rare distinction of being a spoof film that is also original. Mike Myers stars as Groovy British spy Austin Powers. Who is cryogenically frozen in 1969 to do battle with the evil Blofeld Lookalike Dr.Evil (Also Myers). Austin is thawed out in 1997 to a very different world where Swingers are all but extinct. He is partnered up with the daughter of his original partner Vanessa Kensington (Elizabeth Hurley) to do battle with Dr.Evil and his hilarious Minions like Number 2 (Robert Wagner) and Frau Farbissina.Perfect film for James Bond fans; packed with lots of references to James Bond and the Spy Genre whilst also being able to be original. It has lots of quotable quotes like "Groovy". It also features parodies of Iconic James Bond scenes and great 60's costumes and locations. Great film and would highly recommend it- 10/10
AD
