Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery

Directed by Jay Roach, Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery follows swinging spy Austin Powers (Mike Myers) as he and his nemesis (Myers’ Dr. Evil) are frozen in the 1960s and thawed out in the 1990s – with the picture detailing the characters’ efforts at acclimatizing to the new decade and their ongoing cat-and-mouse escapades. It’s an inherently-compelling premise that’s employed to continually engaging and hilarious effect by Roach, as the filmmaker, armed with Myers’ screenplay, delivers a briskly-paced comedy that’s been suffused with a whole host of iconic characters and memorable jokes and gags – with, in terms of the former, Myers’ completely mesmerizing turn as both Austin Powers and Dr. Evil anchoring the proceedings and perpetuating its enthralling atmosphere. (And it doesn’t hurt, either, that Roach has elicited top-notch work from an eclectic supporting cast that includes Elizabeth Hurley, Michael York, Mimi Rogers, and Robert Wagner.) The ongoing emphasis on the central characters’ appealing fish-out-of-water exploits only heightens Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery‘s engrossing vibe, and it’s clear, too, that the picture benefits substantially from its smattering of tongue-in-cheek, laugh-out-loud funny bits of random silliness (eg Dr. Evil’s visit to a father/son group-therapy session, the grim fate of a security guard at the hands of a slow-moving steamroller, etc, etc). The final result is a consistently spellbinding endeavor that does, on top of everything else, succeed as a pitch-perfect spoof of spy movies, and there’s ultimately little doubt that Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery remains the best and most accomplished entry within Myers’ hit-and-miss body of work.

**** out of ****