Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)

Movie Info

Wait…could we make out before saving the world?

Austin Powers (Mike Myers), swinging ’60s super-spy is frozen when his arch-nemesis Dr. Evil (also Mike Myers) escapes into space. When Austin is reawakened in 1997, things have changed. Austin’s swinging style isn’t necessarily appreciated by modern society, but Dr. Evil’s maniacal evil doesn’t date. When Doctor Evil threatens the world, Austin and his new agent partner Vanessa Kensington (Elizabeth Hurley) must take down Doctor Evil, Number 2 (Robert Wagner), Evil’s son Scott Evil (Seth Green), and Frau Farbissina (Mindy Sterling) before Evil can launch his diabolical “Project Vulcan”.

Directed by Jay Roach, Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery was well received when it was released in 1997 but did so-so in the box-office (especially the U.S. box-office). It became a sleeper hit and really took off spawning two sequels which did even better.

Back off Dad

I saw Austin Powers in the theater in London where critics had raved about it. I really enjoyed it but returned home to find almost no one talking about it. Gradually the popularity of Austin Powers grew and everyone was quoting it…to an obnoxious extent. I was surprised however when Austin Powers was released on DVD that many of the scenes I had seen in the U.K. version were not part of the U.S. editing, but only available as deleted scenes.

Austin Powers is smart. The story is such a great parody of classic Bond movies (plus some other spy films) that it could make it hard for those not entirely familiar with James Bond take James Bond seriously. Watching movies like Goldfinger and Thunderball you can almost see every joke that Austin Powers borrowed so if you have to see two Bond films to make this film better, see those films.

Die, Fembots…Die!!!

Mike Myers shows his genius with Austin Powers/Dr. Evil. His comic timing is perfect and it is sad to see that he isn’t very active today (or that he makes things like Love Guru). It is obvious that he researched tons of Bond films to get his swinging portrayal of Powers right along with the over-the-top evilness of Dr. Evil.

Myers is bolstered by a great supporting cast. Hurley is a good classic “Bond” girl (she was actually courted for GoldenEye), Mimi Rogers takes the Ms. Moneypenny role in Mrs. Kensington, Robert Wagner is entertaining as No. 2, and in line with Pussy Galore is Fabiana Udenio as Alotta Fagina. I love Scott Evil and his relationship with his father so the scenes with Seth Green score high. Other cameos and small roles include Will Ferrell, Clint Howard, Burt Bacharach, Tom Arnold, Carrie Fisher, Priscilla Presley, and Rob Lowe in a fun deleted scene.

Though it was quoted and played into the ground, Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery is still a fun movie. If you haven’t seen it in a while check it out again…it is over fifteen years old, but still holds up. Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery was followed by Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me in 1999.

Related Links:

Austin Powers:  The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999)

Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002)