Austin Powers

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.

When I first saw this movie advertised, I had no interest whatsoever in seeing it. I was a Mike Myers fan, but AUSTIN POWERS: INTERNATIONAL MAN OF MYSTERY looked like the stupidest and least creative movie of the year. But after hearing of a few of the hilarious scenes of the movie, I decided to test my faith in Myers and give it a try. It turned out to be one of the funniest movies I'd seen in a long time.

The swinging hipster from the 60's, Austin Powers (Mike Myers), puts himself in deep freeze for thirty years to pursue his archenemy, Dr. Evil (Mike Myers). He is thawed out in the 90's when Dr. Evil finally reappears and plans to drill a missile to the center of the earth and destroy the planet core, and then the world. Austin Powers, with the help of his true love Vanessa Kensington (Elizabeth Hurley), must find a way to stop Dr. Evil and shag Vanessa. But Dr. Evil has some very dangerous customers working for him, such as Number Two (Robert Wagner), Frau Farbissina (Mindy Sterling), Mustafa (Will Ferrell) and his son Scott Evil (Seth Green) who thinks his father should just kill Austin rather than make a complicated plan to get rid of him.

The plot of this movie is a big spoof of movies such as the JAMES BOND films, so it's not expected to be anything but funny, which it certainly is. Don't listen to people who say this is for middle-school kids, people of all ages can enjoy this movie. It should also be said that Dr. Evil is a terrific character because, in addition to being very funny, is the stereotype spy-movie bad guy.

The acting in this movie is pretty good. Mike Myers plays both Austin Power and Dr. Evil, two very different characters, very well. Elizabeth Hurley does a very good job as Austin's girlfriend. Both Seth Green, who I think has a long, successful career ahead of him, and Mindy Sterling are very funny. Robert Wagner and Michael York, two Hollywood veterans, do good jobs with the small parts they have. Will Farrell is underplayed in this movie, but it very funny in the scene he is in. The Fembots, by the way, are terrific.

This movie is destined to become a movie classic, and "Yeah baby!" will be a catch phrase that will be remembered years from now. Austin Power and Dr. Evil are both stereotype symbols of past movies. Basically, these two guys are symbols of American film, at least for that particular genre. Don't expect much out of this movie except for a good laugh and a good time and you won't be disappointed.

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.

In this hilarious spoof of 60's spy flicks, a swinging secret agent is thawed out of his cryogenic state in order to combat his old nemesis. The laughs never stop as Myers entertains in two pivotal roles. Hurley is sexy as Austin's partner and love interest. Robert Wagner finds ways to make fun of his "It Takes a Thief" character and is very entertaining in the process. A quickly paced film that generates constant laughs with each viewing. A sequel is soon to be released...Yeah, baby!

'Austin Powers' is a very hilarious film. I liked Dr. Evil and Mr. Biggelsworth (Dr. Evils freaky hairless cat) the best. They rocked!

The plot is very creative... Austin Powers (a swinging 60's spy that poses as a fashion photographer by day) tries to foil Dr. Evil's (also played by Mike Meyers) plan to make all the volcanoes in the world explode with a nuclear warhead. Vanessa Kensington (Elizabeth Hurley) is his partner that helps him out. They have a great and funny chemistry... and the creative semi-nudity is very funny!

Mike Meyers is truly talented.. rent 'Austin Powers' tonight!

My Rating: 9 out of 10