A 1960s hipster secret agent is brought out of cryofreeze to oppose his greatest enemy in the 1990s, where his social attitudes are glaringly out of place (www.imdb.com).
Director: Jay Roach
Starring: Mike Myers, Elizabeth Hurley, Michael York, Robert Wagner, Seth Green
Mike Myers is the chalk to your cheese, the salt to your sweet. He can improve a mix, or outright destroy it. He's exploited James Bond's core attributes, ruining the stereotypes and the cliches we've grown use to, and come up with not one, but two egotistical maniacs that allow him to rein free and pretty much do as he pleases. The humour falls in to the slapstick category, and sometimes it scrapes the bottom of the comedy gene pool. It's clearly not for everyone. For every comedy gold there's a rusty, wooden pun. Austin Powers (Myers) is an English secret agent from the 60's whose charm, wit and stupidity gets him along in life. His evil nemesis, the aptly named Dr. Evil (also Myers), freezes himself in space and reappears 30 years later in the 90's. Powers follows in pursuit to once and for all bring Dr. Evil down. This crazy plot works because both hero and villain are out of their depth after missing so much from the last 3 decades. Dr. Evil threatens to destroy the world unless he receives $1m from the United Nations, and Austin realises he cannot sow his seed like he use to, thanks to a strong willed, sexy Elizabeth Hurley. If you can't stomach International Man of Mystery's first 5 minutes, don't bother with the rest. If you're a die-hard Bond fan, stay clear; Myers has duplicated Blofeld to shocking effect.
3/5
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