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The Austin Powers films are directed by Jay Roach.
The cast includes Mike Myers, Mindy Sterling, Robert Wagner,
Will Ferrell, Elizabeth Hurley, Beyonce Knowles, Verne Troyer,
Fred Savage, Seth Green, Clint Howard, Michael Caine, Rob
Lowe, Heather Graham and Michael York. Cameos include Carrie
Fisher, Burt Bacharach, Elvis Costello, Tom Cruise, Gwyneth
Paltrow, Steven Spielberg, Kevin Spacey, Danny DeVito, Britney
Spears, Quincy Jones and Tom Arnold. ***
The Austin Powers series was the brainchild of Saturday
Night Live alumnus Mike Myers, who previously scored big
in the 90s with the Wayne’s World films. To date, the series
has spawned three films, which have received many releases
over the years. At long last, in late 2008, the movies finally
hit the Blu-Ray format. Over a decade since the series began,
how do the movies hold up? And is this Blu-Ray package a
worthy upgrade for owners of the original DVD discs? ***
The first film in the series is Austin Powers: International
Man of Mystery. British secret agent/photographer Austin
Powers (Myers) agrees to have himself cryogenically frozen
in 1967 when his arch-nemesis Dr. Evil (also Myers) flees
Earth and freezes himself, vowing to strike again in a later
year. In 1997 Powers is unfrozen when Dr. Evil returns to
Earth. Paired up with a beautiful up-and-coming agent, Powers
must not only thwart Dr. Evil’s latest diabolical scheme,
but also adjust to an era far different from the one in
which he previously lived. ***
The first Austin Powers is the best one by far. The
filmmakers keep the story simple and to the point here,
making the 60s James Bond20films their primary material
to spoof. This combines beautifully with the “fish out of
water” scenario for both our main hero and villain – both
of whom are played brilliantly by Myers. And of course,
along the way, Dr. Evil falls into all the Bond villain
clichés – only to be humorously chastised by his son Scott
(played by the seriously-underrated Seth Green) in numerous
scenes. Visual gags, satire, parody – the first Austin Powers
does it all – brilliantly. At a brisk 90 minutes, the movie
never drags, and there isn’t a scene that feels dull or
wasted. Hands down this film is the best spy spoof this
review has ever seen. It must be seen to be appreciated.
***
Next up is the second film =E 2 Austin Powers: The
Spy who Shagged Me. Dr. Evil has returned, and traveled
back to the year 1969. With his new spy Fat Bastard (Myers
again) placed in the Ministry of Defence where Powers was
cryogenically frozen, and a 1/8 his size cline in tow, he
steals Powers’ mojo – the force that makes him so skilled
a spy and ladies man. Powers travels back in time to recover
his mojo and teams up with an American female agent to take
down Dr. Evil again – only to discover his latest scheme
involves putting a deadly laser on the moon and leveling
major cities. ***
After the first film, The Spy Who Shagged Me comes off
as something of a disappointment. It’s still a hilarious
film with a ton of great scenes, but this time around the
filmmakers tried to do too much, and resorted to less-intelligent
means of comedy. Rather than sticking to Bond spoofing (which
the first film did brilliantly), this time around the filmmakers
try to spoof just about everything else from the era in
which Austin was frozen. This wider scale approach results
in a mixed bag. And then comes the brand of humor this film
explores. Myers himself didn’t need to play yet another
character, and the new one he plays, Fat Bastard, only exists
for the purpose of gross-out jokes. The first few scenes
with this guy are hilarious but it isn’t long until the
filmmakers just start playing him for quick, easy laughs
that any idiotic filmmaker could come up with. And what’s
up with all the time travel? This creates plot holes galore,
which get tiresome after a while. There are still plenty
of great scenes in the second film, but the filmmakers just
tried to do too much and the end result shows. Still, it’s
worth checking out. ***
Closing out the trilogy is Austin Powers in Goldmember.
This time around, Dr. Evil teams up with an evil Dutch club
owner (yet again, Myers) and concocts a scheme to use a
tractor beam to pull a solid gold meteor into the Earth,
melting the polar ice caps and flooding the planet. Myers
follows Dr. Evil, going back in time to rescue his father
where he also teams up with a female agent, and then pursues
Dr. Evil to his new submarine lair where the tractor beam
plot is being put into place. ***
Goldmember is where the Austin Powers series comes
crashing down on itself. The movie feels like a retread
of the previous film, and the filmmakers go for an even
wider scale of things to parody this time. Myers takes on
the mantle of yet another new character (the title villain),
but this guy is far more annoying than funny – and considering
his name is the subtitle of the film, you would think they’d
try to do more with him. This time around the filmmakers
seem more interested in spoofing modern pop culture and
including celebrity cameos (over half a dozen in the first
10 minutes of the movie!) – so much so to the point that
they stop caring about the plots, and the movie feels more
like a collection of loosely-connected gags than a coherent
film. There are more plot holes here than in the first two
movies combined, and the weak, unintelligent gr oss-out
humor of the last movie is pushed to a greater extent (particularly
in a scene featuring the unneeded return of Fat Bastard.)
It’s a far cry from the series’ simple beginnings and a
monumental failure in so many ways. Still, there’s at least
enough laugh-worthy scenes that it’s worth watching at least
once. ***
The Austin Powers series is a mixed bag, with the first
film being an instant classic, the second film good, and
the third one weak. Disappointingly, the movies are ONLY
available in a=2 0set (why do the studios keep doing this
to us Blu-Ray owners!?) so you can’t buy just the first
movie. Still, if you can find it for a good price, the set
will get some good laughs out of you. ---
Image and Sound:
At long last, the first film is prese nted in its original
aspect ratio (previous home video widescreen versions were
slightly cropped.) The first and second films look very
good, with strong detail throughout, and colors that pop
right off the screen. Film grain is intact on the first
two entries but never distracting or an eyesore. Disappointingly,
the third film features some digital noise reduction, which
has reduced a good deal of detail and created the telltale
waxy facial textures. Fortunately, it isn’t a massive treatment
but it still looks weaker than the earlier movies as a result.
The lossless audio tracks are strong, and definitely come
to life during scenes in which there is a lot of action
and ones in which music is played. While the image and sound
quality here aren’t going to compete with modern blockbusters,
for the most part the movies look and sound great for what
they are. A worthy upgrade over the DVDs.
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