Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery

Rating: ****/*****, or 8/10

The first of the Austin Powers movies is also the best. A delightful spoof of the James Bond films and similar spy movies, Austin Powers is a top agent of the British Secret Service in the late 1960s, and also a world renowned fashion photographer, swinger and sex icon. When his nemesis Dr. Evil freezes himself and is shot into space, Austin also freezes himself to fight him again should he return. Both of them are thawed out in 1997, picking up where they left off, but both considerably out of place coping with the strange new world of the late nineties, with many hilarious consequences. Free love and carefree experimenting with mind expanding drugs are out of the question for Austin despite working with gorgeous female agent Vanessa Kensington (Elizabeth Hurley), while Dr. Evil has a hard time wrapping his mind around the fact that one million dollars just isn't enough money to ask for ransom any more, plus he also has to deal with his son Scott Evil (Seth Green) who was artificially created in his absence. Overall, Austin is funny, but it's Dr. Evil who gets all the really good jokes: since Mike Myers performs both characters, he gets out on top of both. The movie failed at the box office though, but turned out a surprise hit in video stores to such an extent, it nevertheless spawned two sequels, both of them good for a decent laugh but not nearly as much as this one.

Starring: Mike Myers, Mike Myers, Elizabeth Hurley, Seth Green

Directed by Jay Roach

USA: New Line Cinema, 1997