Review of Austin Powers
midlandsmovies • April 24, 2021
Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997) Dir. Jay Roach
Yeah, baby! Guy Russell goes back in time - to the late 90s - for a shagadelic re-watch of the comedy spy-caper which comes to BluRay this month.
After a four year hiatus from the big screen Mike Myers returned in 1997 with the smash hit comedy film Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, a spoof of the swinging sixties culture in London.
Mike Myers plays titular character Austin Powers, a British Spy with a world class playboy reputation. His nemesis is Dr. Evil (also played by Myers) who has plans to finally assassinate him until he his thwarted in a London nightclub in 1967.
Evil escapes in a space pod which cryogenically freezes him until his return to Earth in 1997. Powers also freezes himself and instructs the Government to only thaw him out when his enemy resurfaces.
Born from a screenplay written by Myers also, Austin Powers name, look and catchphrases are instantly recognisable in 2021, nearly 25 years since its first release.
This is arguably Myers most identifiable creation, what followed this release were two wildly successful sequels which cemented the character Austin Powers as a cultural phenomenon.
All the more strange then that this was my first viewing of the debut entry in the franchise. Whilst I had seen the popular segments whilst channel hopping or on YouTube, I had never actually sat down and watched this film, unlike the sequels which I have seen and enjoyed.
The film starts with what we now associate as “the Austin Powers theme” (actually Soul Bossa Nova by Quincy Jones), an infectious piece of music which brings a smile as we see Powers saunter around 1960's London followed by a bevy of female fans lusting after him.
Myers is a self confessed Anglophile and it shows here, he captures the essence of the culture and the time perfectly. Spoofing the fashion scene of the time and The Beatles film “A Hard Days Night” hilariously.
To help with adjusting to the 90's Powers is joined by fellow secret agent Vanessa (Elizabeth Hurley) who acts as his guide for all things present day. Whilst she is breathtakingly beautiful throughout, Hurley's performance unfortunately leaves much to be desired, however the character whilst featuring heavily does not give her a great deal to work with.
As Powers tries to stop Dr. Evil's plans for world domination it becomes obvious to the audience that the plot is threadbare, this is commonplace however for spoof comedies of this nature. Whilst I don't think the film parodies James Bond or the spy genre as much as it thinks it does, it is still very funny and has more of its fair share of laugh out loud moments.
Some may find the jokes to be slightly juvenile or goofy and dated, nevertheless they arrive thick and fast. My personal favourites to be a henchman called Random Task (instead of Bond's Oddjob) or the fantastic cameo by Christian Slater ("orange sher-bert").
Overall this is a solid comedy from genius mind of Mike Myers, those looking for something high brow should look elsewhere, but if you're looking for something fast, loose and funny then Austin Powers is your man.
Yeah baby!
Guy Russell
Twitter @budguyer
Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery is on special edition Blu-ray, DVD and Digital 19 April
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