Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002)
Directed by Jay Roach

Film Review

When a popular series of films starts to send itself up, that's a pretty sure sign that its time is up.  The fact that the difference between the second and third Austin Powers films is sufficiently narrow as to be almost unnoticeable is another indication, perhaps, that Mike Myers' ultra-camp velvet-jacketed spy has outstayed his welcome and should review his career options.  Goldmember is by some measure the weakest of the three Austin Power films - it recycles most of the plot of the previous film, The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999), and also nearly all of its gags (the good and the bad) - but that doesn't mean it isn't funny.  Having worked hard to create their own mythology, the Austin Power films no longer have to restrict themselves to poking fun at the James Bond movies; they can now start to take the Mickey out of themselves.  Goldmember isn't just a spoof, it's a spoof that knows it is itself ripe for spoofiing.  That much is clear from the opening sequence, which turns out to be an excerpt from Steven Spielbergs's next film, an Austin Powers biopic featuring Tom Cruise in the role of Britain's grooviest, most shagadelic secret agent.

As ever, this latest Austin Powers comedy extravaganza takes a gargantuan delight in sending up the James Bond films, not just the old Sean Connery ones (most obviously Goldfinger) but also more recent 007 exploits.  Having raided the 1960s, Mike Myers now makes an all-out assault on the 1970s, making landfall in a roller-disco where he collides with a ballsy blaxploitation heroine, stylishly performed by Beyoncé Knowles.  Michael Caine is drafted in to play Austin Powers' neglectful father, stealing all the best lines as a kind of retro-fitted Harry Palmer ("I took a Viagra, got stuck in me throat. I've had a stiff neck for hours.")  As much as Myers tries to make his frilly shirted spy character interesting and amusing, it is his villainous alter ego that always wins the personality contest.  Dr Evil is Myers' most brilliant comic creation and, three films on, Myers still knows how to make him deliriously funny, even if the gags are starting to look a little crude and well-worn.

Given that Goldmember took over 200 million dollars at the box office worldwide, it is surprising that Myers and his team were able to resist the temptation to rush out a fourth Austin Powers film.  A decade on, Mike Myers has finally confirmed that Austin Powers will be back on our screens, perhaps sooner than we think.  Let's hope the wait has been worthwhile and that Myers can still work his magic and deliver the laughs.  It will be fun seeing what he makes of James Bond's latest, grittier manifestation.  Yes, that's exactly what Austin Powers needs now - a barrel load of grit.  Oh, be-have!

Film Synopsis

On his return to Earth after his latest lunar tussle with his archenemy Austin Powers, Dr Evil wastes no time setting his latest diabolical plan in motion.  He intends travelling back to 1975 to kidnap the Dutch inventor Johan van der Smut, better known as Goldmember after a nasty gold smelting accident.  With Goldmember's help, Dr Evil intends to build a tractor beam (named Preparation H) that will cause a meteor to crash into the polar icecaps and create a global flood.  Dr Evil has barely finished outlining this plan to his henchmen when Austin Powers turns up and arrests him.  For his services to British espionage, Austin is knighted but he is mortified when his father, the super-spy Nigel Powers, fails to turn up for the ceremony.  When British Intelligence discovers that Austin's father has been taken prisoner by Goldmember, they send him back to 1975 in a souped-up car.  Austin arrives too late - Goldmember has used Dr Evil's time machine to escape to 2002 with Nigel Powers.   Undercover FBI agent Foxxy Cleopatra teams up with Austin, but before they can catch up with Dr Evil and Goldmember they must first deal with an old adversary, Fat Bastard.  Meanwhile, Dr Evil's son Scott is determined to prove he is a worthy successor to his father, which is bad news for Austin Powers, and even worse news for Dr Evil's pint-sized clone, Mini-Me...