Back in the swinging sixties Austin Powers is the spy no woman can resist; he is also the arch-nemesis of the fiendish Doctor Evil. After Dr Evil's plot to kill Powers fails he has himself cryogenically frozen and launched into orbit. Knowing Evil will one day return Powers is also frozen until he is needed again. In the 90s Dr Evil returns so Powers is thawed out. They both discover that the world has changed significantly while they were away. Dr Evil's organisation is now a major legitimate corporation but he is still determined to hold the world to ransom. Powers has to discover that the era of free love has long gone and he is no longer God's gift to women. As Dr Evil sets his dastardly plans into motion Austen and his assistant Vanessa Kensington work to stop him.Sometimes spoof films are just embarrassing but thankfully this is lots of fun. It plays with the tropes of the genre in a delightful way. We have Dr Evil planning elaborate easy to escape methods for killing Powers while his son recommends just shooting him in the head and making a demand for what he thinks is a significant amount of money but which is trivial by the '90s. There are plenty of laughs to be had as the spy genre, and James Bond in particular, are delightfully spoofed. Some of the gags are a little but crude, but not overly so, and others are more clever; most notably when after two henchmen are killed we are shown how they are real people with family and friends rather than nobodies to be dispatched with a witty aside. Mike Myers impresses in the dual roles of Austin Powers and Dr Evil, Elizabeth Hurley is suitably sexy as Vanessa and Robert Wagner is fun as he plays Number Two in a relatively straight way. Seth Green is also good as Dr Evil's son. There are plenty of well-known faces, including Carrie Fisher, Christian Slater and Rob Lowe, in cameo roles. Overall I'd recommend this to anybody wanting a bit of a laugh; especially if you are a fan of the spy genre.

"The details of my life are quite inconsequential. Very well, where do I begin? My father was a relentlessly self-improving boulangerie owner from Belgium with a low grade narcolepsy and a penchant for buggery. My mother was a 15 year old French prostitute named Chloe with webbed feet. My father would womanize, he would drink, he would make outrageous claims like he invented the question mark. Sometimes he would accuse chestnuts for being lazy, the sort of general malaise that only the genus possess and the insane lament. My childhood was typical, summers in Rangoon, Luge lessons. In the spring we would make meat helmets, when I was insolent I was placed in a burlap bag and beaten with reeds, pretty standard really. At the age of 12 I received my first scribe, and at the age of 14 a Zoroastrian named Vilma, ritualistically shaved my testicles. There really is nothing like a shorn scrotum, its breathtaking, I suggest you try it." - Dr. Evil^ Just one of the reasons why this film is the greatest comedy of all time.

Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997): Dir: Jay Roach / Cast: Mike Myers, Elizabeth Hurley, Robert Wagner, Seth Green, Mimi Rogers: They call him the international man of mystery perhaps for his ability to spellbind his female admirers. Satire of James Bond films beginning in 1967 where Austin Powers foils a world domination scheme by Dr. Evil who freezes himself and launches into space. Thirty years later Powers is thawed and given the task of stopping Dr. Evil again. Slapstick violence highlights the climax with use of a penis enlarger to tag on the double ending. Director Jay Roach exploits the Bond clichés with Dr. Evil making for a hilarious villain. Mike Myers embodies both Powers and Evil with great comic timing. Elizabeth Hurley plays an agent trying to maintain focus. Unfortunately the role is cardboard standard issue and never rises above being a simple sex tease. Her only real function is to be hit on by Powers. Robert Wagner steals scenes as agent Number Two in a role that also seems standard until he has a breakdown moment. Seth Green is terrific as Dr. Evil's son Scott who resents his dad and desires to be an animal vet. Mimi Rogers plays Austin's partner in the 1960's and Hurley turns out to be the product of their partnership. Highlighted with frozen images of celebrities past their prime resulting in a colourful laugh riot. Score: 7 ½ / 10

Wildly inventive and accessible, Mike Myers creation of Austin Powers is both cunning satire and eternally sophomoric, and I loved it! The punning of the 60's is quick and inclusive, regardless of your stance on the social issues of the time, and the Bond/Foe bits play into the genre perfectly. Dr. Evil gets little credit for bringing the two together when he says to his son, "you just don't get it". If you feel the mike Myers character is infectious and continually out of place, then you'd have enjoyed this Bond send off. If not, then count the references, point out what is silly rather than inventive, talk about distance between the viewer and the object of ridicule and feel better about yourselves. That's what Austin would have wanted for you!