AUSTIN POWERS: INTERNATIONAL MAN OF MYSTERY
A film review by Walter Frith
Copyright 1997 Walter Frith
Canadian comedian Mike Myers is a genuine talent to be relished for his tactful presentation of comedy both on television and in the movies. His humour is gleefully obtuse and sometimes aimed at the very essence of pop culture and the way he tells a story is interesting not because of the punchlines he delivers but because of the memories he sometimes invokes. He is barely recognizable in his latest film, 'Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery'.
Myers plays a super duper British spy agent who is frozen in 1967 by science using cryogenics and is thawed out in 1997 to face his mortal enemy, Dr. Evil, in the exact same position. To escape destruction in 1967, Evil used cryogenics to freeze himself to escape justice. The movie has a campy and old fashioned plot of world destruction which literally recognizes its own absurdity by reference.
Visual gags are multiple in this comical farce which isn't as funny as it should be at times and has the look of a James Bond movie, t.v.'s classic series 'Get Smart' and a Mel Brooks deadpan quality to it all rolled into one. There are even similarities to television's 'The Man From U.N.C.L.E.' and 'Mission Impossible'. There is an unusual amount of sexual references in 'Austin Powers' and that's unusual for a Mike Myers movie but I guess Myers wanted to escape the trappings of becoming a repetitive comedian and decided to branch out into more than one dimension of comedy.
Other members of the cast include Elizabeth Hurley, Mimi Rogers and Robert Wagner. 'Austin Powers' will appeal to a wide audience but its likability will be restricted to those open minded enough to accept strange occurances and styles of off beat comedy done with a flair for the obvious.
OUT OF 5> * * *
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