Fresh from his film career since Wayne’s World & his tenure on SNL, Mike Myers came up with an idea based on his childhood watching James Bond, Peter Sellers & comedy troupe Monty Python with his dad. When his stint from SNL was over, he went on hiatus to brainstorm the concept of creating a James Bond parody influenced by his favorite comedians.
Austin Powers: International Man Of Mystery was released in 1997. (same year Men In Black came out) It earned positive reviews from critics and movie goers alike. In addition to good reception, it also made enough revenue at the box office.
Austin Powers spawned two sequels titled “The Spy Who Shagged Me” & “Goldmember.” The films were popular as they also generated merchandise ranging from action figures, costumes & t-shirts. Mike was on a roll as an A-List actor earning millions starring in the Shrek films. Until “The Cat & The Hat” & “The Love Guru” imploded his career.
Recently, Mike Myers is brainstorming ideas for a possible fourth entry. Who knows if this will resurrect his career. As long as I don’t see him wearing a cat suit again.
Today’s review does not contain any big SPOILERS. I’ll give y’all a chance to see all three Austin Powers films.
Yay & Nay Qualities
Yay: Mike Myers did a hilarious job for his performance as Austin Powers & Dr. Evil. Besides playing both characters, he also co-produced & wrote the script.
Fun Fact: Jim Carrey was originally gonna play Dr. Evil. Unfortunately, he dropped due to a busy schedule as he was working on “Liar Liar.” Mike later portrayed Dr. Evil as one of the most iconic villains in cinema.
Other Cast Members including Elizabeth Hurley, Seth Green, Mindy Sterling, Michael York, Robert Wagner & Will Ferrell all did a good job for their performances.
Jay Roach did a decent job directing the film.
Current has-been, Demi Moore co-produced the film.
Humor has a lot of memorable dialogue, visual gags, long jokes, self-awareness & mocking cliches from James Bond. Even Scott lampshades how incompetent Dr. Evil’s plans are utterly stupid. As a kid, I never understood the jokes. Now that I’m older, I finally get the gags.
My favorite joke has something to with going to the bathroom. If you’ve seen it, you probably know what I mean.
Cinematography didn’t suffer from a bad case of Shaky Cam.
Prosthetic Makeup was used to apply Mike’s appearance to transform into Dr. Evil.
Costume Designs for Austin & Dr. Evil are creative.
Chemistry between Austin & Vanessa felt normal.
Practical Effects were used to create elaborate sets and visual gags.
According to Mike, the Austin Powers movies are a tribute to his dad who was around in The 60’s. Mike himself was born in 1963.
Character Development involving Austin. As the film progresses, he learns to adjust to a new time period set in The 90’s after being frozen for approximately thirty years. I have to admit, Austin has better character development than Captain America adjusting to a new environment. Sorry Chris Evans.
Every character is distinctive, which means this movie has personality.
The theme song is “Soul Bossa Nova.” Penned by Quincy Jones.
Transitions are creative with Austin dancing.
Dr. Evil quotes a Darth Vader line while talking to Scott. Coincidentally, George Lucas re-released The Original Star Wars Trilogy the exact same year Austin Powers came out.
Dr. Evil’s monologue about his backstory is ridiculous yet funny at the same time. You can help but laugh at him.
The film did a jab at Carrot Top’s career. Carrot’s film “Chainman Of The Board” was his only starring role. It was tempting fate for him.
One scene predicted George W. Bush’s “shoe incident.”
A fart scene made me laugh out loud.
Dr. Evil’s scheme is named after a race from Star Trek. I guess Mike is a real life “Trekkie.”
Burt Bacharach, Clint Howard, Tom Arnold, Carrie Fisher (god bless her soul) & two famous cartoon characters make cameo appearances.
The ending sets up the next installment.
Scenes are shown during The End Credits. Austin also sings a song with the band “Ming Tea.” Mike & The Crew must’ve had a fun time making the film.
Nay: Product Placement featuring brands such as Big Boy, Tab & Crest. I’ll give con this a pass, because I couldn’t find any other brand to shove down my throat.
The Final Verdict: A, FOR APEX!
All I can say is Austin Powers: International Man Of Mystery and its sequels remains as one of my favorite parody films. If you’re ready to see Mike Myers’ possible comeback, go ahead and give this one a watch alongside The Spy Who Shagged Me & Goldmember.
I hope the rumors surrounding Austin Powers 4 are true. Who knows if this might become a reality. We shall see in the future my fellow movie goers.
Nickthemoviecritic.com 