Reviewed by Johnny McNair

New Line Home Entertainment– 280 minutes – 1997/1999/2002 – Rated PG-13 – 1080p 2.35:1/2.40:1 – DTS HD 5.1 Lossless Audio

 

If they gave awards to the one series of films that has spawned the most catch phrases, it has to go to the Austin Powers movies. “Yeah, Baby, Yeah!” “One million dollars!” “Get in my belly!” “Things got weird, momma” “Sex…Yes, please” “Spitz or Swallows, which is it?” “When Mr. Bigglesworth gets upset…People die!” And if you watch these movies continuously you’ll find more and more quotable content. Comedian Mike Myers struck gold when he first brought the suave-boyish super-spy Austin Powers to the screen back in 1997. The follow-up sequel, The Spy Who Shagged Me, was even more successful in 1999 making more than double of what the original made at the box office. The third flick, Goldmember, released in 2002, showed that the franchise was losing its charm, but still managed to nab a fortune in ticket sales. New Line Home Entertainment has release the Austin Powers trilogy in a Collector’s Edition Blu-ray box set, so slip on your smooth velvet and your psychedelic attitude because shagging time is here.

Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)

Mike Myers plays the super cool mojo-filled British spy Austin Powers who is the man to be in the 60’s, when everything was fun, colorful, and shagging is a way of life. He plays a constant cat-and-mouse chase game with his archenemy, the mastermind criminal, Dr. Evil (also played by Myers), who is out to hold the world hostage. When Dr. Evil is cryogenically frozen with the goal of being revived in the future, Powers has the same experiment done on him in hopes of foiling his plan. When Dr. Evil re-emerges 30 years later in 1997, Powers is thawed out and sent on a mission to stop him. Powers who was once the epitome of super cool, now looks like a clown in the future society, and is desperately trying to fit in with the help of another agent, Vanessa Kensington (Elizabeth Hurley).

The highlight of the movie is Dr. Evil and his evil entourage, which includes his right hand man, Number Two (Robert Wagner), the son he never knew because he was created via frozen semen, Scott Evil (Seth Green), a ruthless assassin, Mustafa (Will Ferrell), and the diabolical Frau Farbissina (Mindy Sterling), who basically steals every scene she’s in. Myers as Powers is fun, but face it, when he slaps on that bald cap and put the pinky in his mouth as Dr. Evil, this is where the real laughs roll in.

Director Jay Roach knows that there’s not much he can do other then yell action and let the cast do their thing, because it’s so obvious that most of the dialogue was made up on the spot, because there are so many actors in the cast who got their start in the improvisational comedy world. Yes, this film is silly, but it’s so much fun, especially if you’re familiar with the spy movies that are being spoofed, particularly the Bond films. Also, every time you watch this film you’ll find something new to laugh at, even if it something as small as one of Dr. Evil’s odd expressions. And as an tiny bit of trivia, this film, as well as the other two Austin Powers flicks were co-produced by Demi Moore (No wonder she still has so much money).

Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999)

Austin Powers instantly landed into pop culture, so it was no surprise that there would be a sequel, and two years later we got the super-spy’s next adventure The Spy Who Shagged Me. This time Dr. Evil creates a time machine to go back in time, where he steals Powers’ mojo, which is what gives him his coolness.

Many of the original cast members such as Mindy Sterling, Robert Wagner, and Seth Green have returned, but some new faces are also included. Heather Graham plays the new ‘Powers girl,’ a CIA named Felicity Shagwell who is also out to stop Dr. Evil. Former brat packer Rob Lowe plays Number Two (Wagner’s character) as a young man when they go back in time. Mike Myers puts on a fat suit to play a third character in the film, a giant obese hulk named Fat Bastard. But the most memorable character is a miniature-cloned version of Dr. Evi named Mini Me played by Verne Troyer, who even though he has no lines steals plenty of scenes.

Again directed by Jay Roach, The Spy Who Shagged me is just one skit after the other that makes no sense, but some of the scenes are so funny that you really won’t care if the film has a non-existing script. This is one of those movies where you just watch to see how far they will go to push as close to the edge of PG-13 humor line. If you enjoyed the first film, even though the second is not as clever, you will laugh your ass off at times, and as long as a film can deliver that, it’s successful.

Austin Powers: Goldmember (2002)

You’ve got to have a trilogy, so when the box office tally for the second Austin Powers film was triple that of the first movie, Mike Myers and the gang quickly ran back to the studio for the super spy’s next adventure, Austin Powers: Goldmember. Unfortunately, the third time is not the charm, because Goldmember is the weakest film in the series, which seems like everybody was trying to get in on the action, which is obvious in the opening scene that features such Hollywood heavyweights as Tom Cruise, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kevin Spacey and even Steven Spielberg.

It’s really not clear what the plot of the film is, you just have to accept and go along for the ride and hope you get a laugh or two. The gang from the first two films has returned to their roles, with the newest additions being Michael Caine as Austin’s father, Nigel Powers, and Beyonce Knowles who is terribly cast as the latest Powers girl, agent Foxxy Cleopatra. Myers puts on more make-up again to play the title character Johan Van Der Smut, also known as the villainous Goldmember.

Goldmember is the weakest film in the trilogy, because there were no attempts made to keep thing fresh, and they instead kept pumping out the same jokes you’ve seen in the last two films. Jay Roach takes the director’s chair again for the third time, but it doesn’t seem like anyone is actually running the show. There are talks of a fourth Austin Powers film in the works, and if that occurs (and it will because of the current “reboot” trend in Hollywood), let’s hope that Myers and his associates don’t screw it up again, because there’s a huge fan base of ticket buyers who want their mojo back.

International Man of Mystery specs:

VIDEO

With a full 1080p image in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio, the first Austin Powers film looks great with bright colors and accurate skin tones. The image is so clear that every time Dr. Evil turns his head at certain angels you can see the badly molded bald cap he’s wearing poking up at the seams. Overall the image quality looks good, but there are hints of grain in places, but not enough to make you not appreciate the transfer.

 AUDIO

Offering a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 sound mix, International Man of Mystery makes good use of all the speakers, so when you hear Quincy Jones’ theme in the opening dance title sequence, you should have no complaints. Dialogue is clean and clear, and sound effects are evenly divided to benefit your surround system.

The Spy Who Shagged Me specs:

VIDEO

Just like the first movie The Spy Who Shagged me looks great, if not slightly better with the highlight being the display of it’s super bright colors. Skin tones are excellent and the detail is so sharp that you can see how bad sand cheap some of the sets look. There’s not as much grain in this movie as there was in the first, mainly because there are barely any dark scenes. This one is a winner.

AUDIO

Presented with a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 sound mix, the audio design is again done well, with crystal clear dialogue and good use of speaker separation. The second film has a lot more action; so, things will get louder, with more gunshots and explosions. There’s really nothing to complain about here.

Goldmember specs:

VIDEO

Goldmember is presented in a 2.40:1 aspect ratio, and the image quality is decent, but not as clean as the previous two films, which is odd, because it’s usually the last film made that looks the best. There’s a good amount of grain here, because of all the films this one has the darkest style. The quality obviously looks better than what you will see on the standard DVD, but it just doesn’t stand toe-to-toe with the International Man of Mystery and The Spy Who Shagged me.

AUDIO

Like the other two films Goldmember also offers a Dolby TrueHD sound mix that sounds great, delivering the same crisps dialogue and audio effects. This film seems to have more music than the others in the trilogy, so this is highlighted and expands the use of both rear and front speakers.

EXTRAS

All the bonus features that were included with the standard DVDs have all been ported over for this Blu-ray collection. Unfortunately, nothing new has been added such as a ten-year retrospective, which would have been welcomed. All the extras are in standard definition and look plain in comparison, but if you want to trade-up you won’t have to worry about something being missing.

Bonus Features for International Man of Mystery:

Director Jay Roach and star Mike Myers sit down for an audio commentary, but it doesn’t offer much about the production and just sounds like two guys sitting at a bar talking about the Austin Powers movie they just saw.

There are twelve minutes of deleted/extended scenes, and though you may find a chuckle here or there, most of them play out exactly as unwanted scenes.

Bonus Features for The Spy Who Shagged Me:

Roach and Myers provide a commentary track for the second movie, this time included the film’s co-writer Michael McCullers. This commentary is much better than the one from International Man of Mystery and the guys seem to be having a lot of fun re-telling on the set stories.

There are twenty minutes of deleted/extended scenes that are bouncing around all over the place. Good luck finding a laugh in these maze.

A behind the scenes featurette provides a behind the scenes look at the making of The Spy Who Shagged Me that includes interviews with the cast and crew.

The Dr. Evil Story is a very funny fake documentary on the most feared man in the Austin Powers universe.

A series of four music videos round out the package that includes songs by Madonna , Lenny Kravitz, Scary Spice from the Spice Girls, and a Dr. Evil and Mini-Me duet.

Bonus Features for Goldmember:

Myers and Roach deliver another one of their audio commentary tracks, tossing out more stories of how ideas were conceived and on the set antics.

A new batch of deleted/extended scenes offer more of the same things you saw before, so hopefully you will get a chuckle.

The world of Austin Powers, which runs about forty-five minutes is a must see for fans of the British super spy, looking at all aspects of the three films and delivering quite a bit of information about the productions.

A silly Focus Point and Fact Track, allows you to watch Goldmember and either watch pop-up video styled text info or access behind the scenes clips.

Several music videos are also included by artist such as Britney Spears and Beyonce, as well as a new duet by Dr. Evil and Mini-Me.

BOTTOM LINE

If you’re a fan of the Austin Powers film, purchasing this trilogy Blu-ray collection is a no-brainer, because it’s the most complete set on the market. The image quality varies, depending on the movie, but they are all a step above your old DVDs. You’ll be quoting catch-phrases for days after you’ve watched all of the films, because they are a lot of fun at a time like this we all can use a good laugh. “Yeah baby…Yeah!”

SCORES: (Out of 5):

Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery:

The Movie: 4.0

Video: 3.5

Sound: 2.5

Extras: 3.5

Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me:

The Movie: 3.0

Video: 4.0

Sound: 4.0

Extras: 4.0

Austin Powers: Goldmember:

The Movie: 2.5

Video: 3.0

Sound: 4.0

Extras: 3.0

AUSTIN POWERS COLLECTION:

Bottom Line: 4.0