Mike Myers as the writer and star obviously has fun spoofing his James Bond collection in this amusing comedy. Viewed today, some of the more sexist jokes unsurprisingly don't play well in the here and now, as it becomes clear that when not indulging his 007 fixation, Myers seems to have seen more than a few episodes of the old Benny Hill Show too.
To be fair, you see more of Austin Powers in his underwear than co-star Liz Hurley as his traveling Moneypenny but there's no denying that women are the butt, absolutely no pun intended, of a lot of the jokes here.
I much prefer anyway the non-objectifying gags like when Dr Evil and his underlings start a mad laugh which would normally cut once it was just underway but here stays with the group until it whimpers to a hilarious close.
I also enjoyed the day-glo titles, the Rowan & Martin-type inserts and the specific Bond take-offs with the wonderfully named Random Task and Rosa Klebb lookalike henchmen. Myers is good value as the buck-teethed hero, Hurley is a good foil and it was groovy to see 60's veterans Michael York and Robert Wagner joining in the fun too.
At just 90 minutes in length, the film doesn't overstay its welcome while Myers keeps the joke-count high throughout. While it may not have aged too well in some respects to the extent that it may now be considered a bit of a guilty pleasure over 25 years on, it nevertheless kept me amused and I'd say isn't a film where you only laugh twice (ouch!).
To be fair, you see more of Austin Powers in his underwear than co-star Liz Hurley as his traveling Moneypenny but there's no denying that women are the butt, absolutely no pun intended, of a lot of the jokes here.
I much prefer anyway the non-objectifying gags like when Dr Evil and his underlings start a mad laugh which would normally cut once it was just underway but here stays with the group until it whimpers to a hilarious close.
I also enjoyed the day-glo titles, the Rowan & Martin-type inserts and the specific Bond take-offs with the wonderfully named Random Task and Rosa Klebb lookalike henchmen. Myers is good value as the buck-teethed hero, Hurley is a good foil and it was groovy to see 60's veterans Michael York and Robert Wagner joining in the fun too.
At just 90 minutes in length, the film doesn't overstay its welcome while Myers keeps the joke-count high throughout. While it may not have aged too well in some respects to the extent that it may now be considered a bit of a guilty pleasure over 25 years on, it nevertheless kept me amused and I'd say isn't a film where you only laugh twice (ouch!).