I saw Goldmember this weekend.
There are two types of people in this world. People who love the Austin Powers movies, and the people who don't. There's no room for indifference here.
If you loathe them, then stay away, rent this movie*, have a good cry, and quit looking down your nose at the rest of us.
If, like me, you like Austin & Co., then go see this movie. This is the best Austin Powers movie so far.
| Warning: Spoilers |
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| The opening scene is spectacular, both from an action point of view, and from the sheer volume of very famous people, they got to make cameo appearances.
It starts with a really dramatic chase scene, with a woman on a motorbike, being chased by a helicopter gunship. To the rescue, out of a plane jumps Austin, complete with union jack parachute. He activates his remote control bringing his Shaguar (car) out of hiding, and lands in it, whilst it's driving along the road. There's a bit of a chase, which ends with him facing off against the helicopter. He drives straight towards it, and at the last minute, activates an ejector seat, catapulting him head over heels, over the helicopter, a machine gun in each hand, blasting away, until the 'copter explodes. He then turns around, and lo, it's Tom Cruise as Austin, with Gwyneth Paltrow as the female agent. She even has a clichéd Bond girl name, "Dixie Normous". Dr Evil is played by Kevin Spacey with Danny DeVito as Mini-Me. Yes, it turns out it's a film about Austin, within a film about Austin. |
From then on, it's back to the 'real' world, with all the usual faces, plus Beyoncé Knowles as CIA agent, Foxxy Cleopatra. She is well cast in this role, managing to look both Seventies-styled, and sexy at the same time. That's no easy feat.
The new villain, Goldmember, also played by Mike Myers, takes 'being creepy' to a whole new level. He's a 1970's Dutch roller disco fan with no genitalia, flaking skin and a twisted mind. Myers' Dutch accent is spot-on in a slightly clichéd way.
Michael Caine appears as Austin's dad, Nigel Powers, complete with the obligatory Ken Dodd teeth. His spy car is the New Mini, complete with a full Union Jack paint job. This is the only picture I've been able to find of it, despite extensive searches.
In fact, psychologist wannabes among you, will spot an inordinate number of 'father figure' references in this movie. If you saw the edition of Inside The Actor's with Mike Myer's, you'll already be aware of just how much Myers wanted to show his father his success, a success which didn't occur until after his father went senile and was unable to appreciate it.
Throughout the film, Austin is reminded of how his father was never there to see his successes (at school, getting knighted by the Queen).
| Another Spoiler |
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| The origins of Dr Evil are explained, albeit somewhat cornily. He turns out to be Austin's brother, whom everyone thought had perished in the same car bomb accident that killed Austin's mother. The inevitable "we're all on the same team now" ending ensues, with Dr Evil and Austin teaming up to defeat Goldmember. |
Here's a bunch of pictures from Goldmember.
All in all, as I've said, I think this was the best of the Austin Powers films so far. There's always a danger of an idea having been done to death, but not so in the case of this film. I'd even go so far as to suggest there's room for a fourth film, provided Myers' creativity maintains its current level.
There's one memorable scene, towards the end of the film, where Austin and Mini-Me are sneaking around the enemy submarine, and end up being mistaken for a henchman (Austin is on Mini-Me's shoulders with a long coat on) and are asked to take a medical. Whilst it wasn't high-brow humour (and I like that too), it was incredibly well-executed, and I don't think I've laughed so hard all year. Tears of laughter were streaming down my face, and a one point, I was laughing so hard, I thought I was going to have a nosebleed!
Perhaps that should be my new measure of comedy: "If I aint bleeding, you ain't funny enough."
*In case you're wondering, yes I have seen this movie. I enjoyed it. It was so sad, and it was the nearest I've come to actually crying in a cinema, ever. I had tears in my eyes, especially during that bit when he's in the attic with the young boy and he (Hopkins) starts crying, but I didn't blub. I suspect my British stiff upper lip was contorting my face enough to prevent the tears from falling out of my eyes.
