Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery – Film Review

Posted by Samuel Walters

Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery is one of those classic films that has taken on a larger-than-life aura since its initial release in 1997. As a spoof on the whole James Bond/super-agent film genre, and on late-90s pop-culture, it works very well. As a flat-out comedy, however, its jokes run the gamut from innovative to cliché. Ultimately, it’s a film well-worth watching – but if you haven’t seen it before, and if you buy into the hype that this is one of the best comedies of the past two decades, you might find yourself disappointed. Otherwise, if you have fond memories of its initial release and subsequent sequels, there’s plenty to enjoy and reminisce about.

The story itself is fairly straightforward. Uber-spy and ladies man Austin Powers (Michael Myers) has an arch nemesis, the wonderfully labeled Dr. Evil (also portrayed by Myers). After a fateful confrontation in 1967, the two are frozen for thirty years only to renew their rivalry in the year 1997. Thus the film gets plenty of mileage out of the whole “fish out of water” trope as both characters try to acclimate themselves to their new surroundings (as Austin Powers famously quips, “as long as people are still having promiscuous sex with many anonymous partners without protection while at the same time experimenting with mind-expanding drugs in a consequence-free environment, I’ll be sound as a pound!”).

Well, not quite, Austin.

What he does encounter is Ms. Kensington (Elizabeth Hurley), the daughter of his former partner, Mrs. Kensington. The two inevitably form a romantic relationship (inexplicably after Austin’s exclamations of “Do I make you horny, baby?”). But then again, plot and characterizations really aren’t the point of the film. To the credit of the film, though, Hurley’s performance is a strength as she attempts to play a straight-arrow agent who eventually succumbs to Austin’s wildly bizarre advances (it doesn’t hurt, either, that Elizabeth Hurley looks very good in the film).

But really, it’s the jokes, baby. Yeah.

And, for the most part, the film manages to be successful in its humor – whether it’s the demand for “One million dollars,” the sea-bass with “lasers” attached to their heads, or the fembots, there’s usually something just zany and off-beat enough to generate a chuckle. But in truth, there are few truly laugh-out-loud moments – which is surprising for a film with the kind of reputation that this one enjoys.

One of the other prominent features of the film is its preponderance of pop-culture references. From the cameo of Will Farrell (blink and you’ll miss him) to other late-90s cliché (such as Seth Green’s angst-filled turn as Dr. Evil’s test-tube son) there are plenty of moments that, while inherently funny, were much more hilarious a decade ago than they are today.

Overall Grade: B-

Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery is, without question, a classic film. But it’s not quite the laugh-fest that most people remember. It’s a fun film, with plenty of humor to go around. The plot isn’t that bad, either. But it certainly doesn’t live up to its own reputation.

Topics: Comedy, Film Review, Mystery
Filed under: Film