It's 1967 and famous British spy Austin Powers has defeated his nemesis Dr. Evil. Dr. Evil proceeds to do the only logical thing, escape in a rocket ship disguised as a Big Boy statue and cryogenically freeze himself (and his cat). Austin Powers volunteers to be frozen in case Dr. Evil returns to wreak havoc in the future. Thirty years pass. It's 1997 and Dr. Evil is back. Time to unfreeze Austin Powers who is about to find out the '90s aren't quite as groovy as the '60s.
Dr. Evil plots to steal a nuclear weapon and hold the world hostage for one million dollars! Er, one hundred billion dollars! A million bucks just doesn't buy what it used to. Dr. Evil has got a lot to catch up on, as does Austin Powers, the product of the swinging '60s who is very much out of place in the more sedate '90s. This leads to some good laughs, many of which center around Austin's attempt to get his new partner, the stunningly beautiful Vanessa Kensington, to sleep with him. Sadly, Austin's tried-and-true '60s seduction techniques aren't going to work on Vanessa. Meanwhile, there's the small matter of foiling Dr. Evil's dastardly plan.
The movie maybe never hits the heights of comedic genius. It's never uproariously funny but it is reasonably amusing. And charming too. Mike Myers does very well with the dual roles of Austin Powers and Dr. Evil though there is the nagging sense that the bad guy is funnier than the titular hero. There is little question the funniest moments come from Dr. Evil, the prototypical James Bond villain who knows he's the prototypical James Bond villain. Among other things this means he must have over-elaborate ways of doing everything when he knows darned well a simpler way would surely suffice. And it also of course means he is fated to be frustrated. What's a guy got to do to get some sharks with frickin' laser beams attached to their heads? Dr. Evil is a hoot, Austin Powers sometimes less so but you root for him. He's charming in his own very unique way. Maybe Vanessa will even come to love him. Happily Elizabeth Hurley, playing Vanessa, proves to be a model who can actually act. She more than holds her own with Myers, the two work well together. There are other familiar faces in the cast, including Michael York, Robert Wagner and Seth Green, who all do well with their respective roles. But the movie obviously belongs to Myers, this is his baby. And he pulls it off well enough. Yes, the humor is hit and miss but there are enough hits to keep you smiling. This is the spoof James Bond deserved. Yeah, baby, yeah!
Dr. Evil plots to steal a nuclear weapon and hold the world hostage for one million dollars! Er, one hundred billion dollars! A million bucks just doesn't buy what it used to. Dr. Evil has got a lot to catch up on, as does Austin Powers, the product of the swinging '60s who is very much out of place in the more sedate '90s. This leads to some good laughs, many of which center around Austin's attempt to get his new partner, the stunningly beautiful Vanessa Kensington, to sleep with him. Sadly, Austin's tried-and-true '60s seduction techniques aren't going to work on Vanessa. Meanwhile, there's the small matter of foiling Dr. Evil's dastardly plan.
The movie maybe never hits the heights of comedic genius. It's never uproariously funny but it is reasonably amusing. And charming too. Mike Myers does very well with the dual roles of Austin Powers and Dr. Evil though there is the nagging sense that the bad guy is funnier than the titular hero. There is little question the funniest moments come from Dr. Evil, the prototypical James Bond villain who knows he's the prototypical James Bond villain. Among other things this means he must have over-elaborate ways of doing everything when he knows darned well a simpler way would surely suffice. And it also of course means he is fated to be frustrated. What's a guy got to do to get some sharks with frickin' laser beams attached to their heads? Dr. Evil is a hoot, Austin Powers sometimes less so but you root for him. He's charming in his own very unique way. Maybe Vanessa will even come to love him. Happily Elizabeth Hurley, playing Vanessa, proves to be a model who can actually act. She more than holds her own with Myers, the two work well together. There are other familiar faces in the cast, including Michael York, Robert Wagner and Seth Green, who all do well with their respective roles. But the movie obviously belongs to Myers, this is his baby. And he pulls it off well enough. Yes, the humor is hit and miss but there are enough hits to keep you smiling. This is the spoof James Bond deserved. Yeah, baby, yeah!