Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery

When he made Austin Powers: International Man Of Mystery Mike Myers aspired to comic greatness, the kind we had not seen on the screen since Peter Sellers. Only Sellers and Alec Guinness could create so many believable characters in the same film and make them work the way Myers does with Austin Powers and his perennial nemesis Doctor Evil.

Hard to believe, but back in the swinging London of the Sixties, the British kids really did dress like Austin Powers. The key to Powers character is that whether he's in the Sixties or the Nineties, he's still an overgrown kid.

The film is like the old Batman TV series where the Gotham City Police Department is good enough at dealing with ordinary criminals. But when exotic types like the Joker or the Penguin threaten the law and order of Gotham City, Commissioner Gordon reaches for the Batphone and Adam West and Burt Ward start doing their thing in tights.

Powers is on the verge of nabbing Doctor Evil back in the day when the doctor takes off in a rocketship and cryogenically freezes himself. It's also some rocketship if I do say so. Not to be outdone, British Intelligence cryogenically freezes Austin Powers because he's the only man capable of dealing with Evil in their service.

Both men have to adapt to a culture shock. Doctor Evil has mixed feelings about the test tube baby son he fathered in Seth Green. As for Powers, he's not quite fathoming the fact that his Emma Peel like partner Mimi Rogers from back in the day has a daughter in Elizabeth Hurley doing her bit in the family spy business.

Michael York as the M character and Powers boss and Robert Wagner as Number 2 in the Evil Empire both look like they're having a really good time hamming up their parts. There's also a nice unbilled part by Tom Arnold as a cowboy in the men's room with Powers when one of the Evil assassins tries to get him.

A lot of good laughs in this first Austin Powers film, I do so hope Mike Myers does make still another one.

Yeah, it's dumb, yeah it's goofy, but it knows it. Almost everyone in this movie is self-aware of the kind of tropes it is making fun of. It drags out its humor, to a degree that is almost irritating, but it works. It works because of the meta-humor, because of the acknowledgment of the insanity. That makes it that much more fun to watch and hilarious. It's pure laughs and clever writing all through.

Aside from it's overwhelmingly raunchy humor,I consider this to be a great spoof of the spy genre and 60's culture.Mike Myers has created yet two more endearing characters in Powers and his nemisis,Dr.Evil.When certain characters inspire imitation (and who hasn't at least heard imitations of these two,or perhaps even Robert Wagner's character, Number 2 and others),then you have done something right.This movie is good for it's amusing characters and good story line,but again I think it would have worked without so much vulgar humor.Worth a look.

Mike Myers brings his absurdist brand of funny to the secret agent genre. At his peak Myers delivered a highly stylized form of comedy in an Airplane sense that holds up even today. This is his peak.

When I saw "Austin Powers", I was on the floor laughing. This movie has every single memorable line you could possibly imagine. From "Yeah, baby!" to "Riiiiiight", Mike Myers is a genius when it comes to comedy! I think everyone could say that they laughed at least once to this film.

Paroding of the James Bond flicks, Austin Powers is an international spy who is a lady's man. Dr. Evil, is Arch Nemesis, goes into the future of 1997 and now Austin must travel through time to find him. When he gets to 1997, he has a beautiful assistant, Vanessa, who happens to be the daughter of his former flame in the 60's. Vanessa resists Austin's charm and wants to stick to business while Austin is wasting no time to get to his "business" with her. Dr. Evil learns that he has a son, Scott played by Seth Green. When Scott isn't as excited to have Dr. Evil as a father, Dr. Evil tries anything he can to get Scott to love him, including a hilarious scene in a counseling group for father's and son's. But back into action, Austin must find Dr. Evil before he rules the world with his kitty, Mr. Bigglesworth. But can he do that and have Vanessa at the same time?

You'll just have to see! My favorite characters that worked so well together was without a doubt Seth and Mike as Dr. Evil and Scott. They are just beyond hilarious and work so well together. I think a lot of the other Austin Powers fans would agree. There first scene together meeting is just really funny, "Give Daddy a hug! I'm down with the kids, ducka ducka ducka!" "No! Get away from me you psycho!". Classic! Like I said "Austin Powers" is just a great and funny movie that I think you can get into if you're looking for a decent comedy. Come on! We still say "Yeah, baby!" to this very day after all! Let's give Mike some credit here!

8/10