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List Price: $32.98 | | Label: New Line Home Entertainment
Salesrank: 5626
Released: December 3, 2002 |
| Our Price: $19.28 |
| Used Price: $15.00 |
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MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
The most colorful special agent, Austin Powers, will keep you laughing as he thwarts the efforts of the infamous Dr. Evil in this 3-pack of instant classic comedies. Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery; Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me; Austin Powers in Goldmember
Description of Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery/The Spy Who Shagged Me/Goldmember:
If you don't think Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997) is one of the funniest movies of the 1990s, maybe you should be packed into a cryogenic time chamber and sent back to the decade whence you came. Perhaps it was the 1960s--the shagadelic decade when London hipster Austin Powers scored with gorgeous chicks as a fashion photographer by day, crime-fighting international man of mystery by night. Yeah, baby, yeah! But when Powers's arch nemesis, Dr. Evil, puts himself into a deep-freeze and travels via time machine to the late 1990s, Powers must follow him and foil Evil's nefarious scheme of global domination. Mike Myers plays dual roles as Powers and Dr. Evil, with Elizabeth Hurley as his present-day sidekick and karate-kicking paramour. A hilarious spoof of '60s spy movies, this colorful comedy actually gets funnier with successive viewings, making it a perfect home video for gloomy days and randy nights. Oh, behave!
"I put the grrr in swinger, baby!" a deliciously randy Powers coos near the beginning of The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999), and if the imagination of Austin creator Mike Myers seems to have sagged a bit, his energy surely hasn't. This friendly, go-for-broke sequel finds our man Austin heading back to the '60s to keep perennial nemesis Dr. Evil (Myers again) from blowing up the world--and, more importantly, to get back his mojo, that man-juice that turns Austin into irresistible catnip for women, especially American spygirl Felicity Shagwell (a pretty but vacant Heather Graham). The plot may be irreverent and illogical, the jokes may be bad, and the scenes may run on too long, but it's all delivered sunnily and with tongue firmly in cheek. Myers teams Dr. Evil with a diminutive clone, Mini-Me (Verne J. Troyer), then pulls a hat trick by playing a third character, the obese and disgusting Scottish assassin Fat Bastard.
Despite symptoms of sequelitis, Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002) is must-see lunacy for devoted fans of the shagadelic franchise. Unfortunately, the law of diminishing returns is in full effect: for every big-name cameo and raunchy double-entendre, there's an equal share of redundant shtick, juvenile scatology, and pop-cultural spoofery. All is forgiven when the hilarity level is consistently high, and Mike Myers--returning here as randy Brit spy Austin, his nemesis Dr. Evil, the bloated Scottish henchman Fat Bastard, and new Dutch disco-villain Goldmember--thrives by favoring comedic chaos over coherent plotting. Once they've tossed Austin into the disco fever of 1975 (where he's sent to rescue his father, gamely played by Michael Caine), Myers and director Jay Roach seem vaguely adrift with old and new characters, including Verne Troyer's Mini-Me and pop star Beyoncé Knowles as Pam Grier-ish blaxpo-babe Foxxy Cleopatra. A bit tired, perhaps, but Powers hasn't lost his mojo.
Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery/The Spy Who Shagged Me/Goldmember Reviews:
Austin Powers Box Set 
2008-09-06 - My husband is a big Austin Powers fan and this box set was just what he wanted for a lot of laughs.
Totally Shagadelic, baby...
2008-06-20 - I must admit that when I first saw the initial Austin Powers movie, I didn't really quite get it. And I didn't really like it as well. However, in retrospect, I must also admit that my feelings about the first movie (and sequels) slowly changed as I realized that really, this series of movies were/are not so much parodies of the James Bond films, but parodies of lesser known, earlier spy film lampoons and exotic, comedic spin-offs such as James Coburn's "In Like Flint" and "Our Man Flint," the Matt Helm (Dean Martin) efforts, and so forth. If you have casually seen a few or most of the "serious" James Bond films, you might not get this important aspect, as I seemingly did not at first, because while the Austin Powers films are supposed satires of the original Bond films, they are in essence, actually parodies of parodies. Clear as mud?
While this DVD trilogy is a great buy for those who love/loved the original three Austin Powers' films (and a fourth one is on the way, they say, yippie) and while one can easily get repeated laughs from frequent viewings of all three, while all three films are better than about 95 percent of most Hollywood comedies, past, present, and future, this collection will always remain a must have for even the most fussy collectors of recent comedy movie series. And particularly collectors of comedic genius Mike Myers' best efforts past/present (especially considering the apparent critically and box-office misfire "The Love Guru"). These three Austin Powers films however, were not created equal, for various reasons. For me, the first is great, the second even better (and the best of the three), but the third is a bit of a slight downer compared to the first two. All three however, have their strong and weak points, and as to which one a fan may like better than another, it's all certainly relative, because all three are very good at the very least, and there are more than enough purely funny moments in all three to make this collection a must have.
Mike Myers got his "big" start in the biz as a member of NBC's "Saturday Night Live," where many of his characters/ideas and unique brands of humor and outlooks on life engendered popular and critical acclaim, including skits and sketches involving Deter, the German neo-wave TV talk/dance show "Sprockets" host, and Barbara ("I'm verklempt") and Wayne's World's Wayne (which led to two feature films). But none of his work prior to his Austin Powers efforts truly showed his potential, in my view. I can only hope that if and when we DO see a fourth Austin movie, it pays attention and tribute to the first two of the series, and less so to the third. Breaking down the three films a bit more individually...
AUSTIN POWERS, INTERNATIONAL MAN OF MYSTERY (the first):
After a few viewings, it became clear to me that this was not so much a parody of semi-serious 60-70's spy, secret agent films as it was and remains a parody of all of those even remotely-genre similar films. This realization is an important part of how one views this and subsequent sequels. This idea is even cleverly incorporated (as are so many others), in the second film, when Austin is seen watching one of the earlier James Coburn spy spoof parodies while watching TV, when Powers says, "Hey, this is one of my favorite movies..." This was in fact, the turning point in my own turn-about appreciation for Myers' entire Austin Powers trilogy. For in more youthful days, I had loved the Flint and Matt Helm flicks and eventually came to see the Austin Powers films and general ideas, as what they were/are really all about, parodies within parodies. And ones done with true comedic abandon.
The first film gets at least 4 and a half stars.
AUSTIN POWERS, THE SPY WHO SHAGGED ME (the second):
After generally converting to a casual fan of the whole Austin Powers experience, after giving the first movie a few viewings, I was so ready for another go-around, and the second film more than delivered. It also cemented me as a die-hard Austin Powers fan. New characters include "Mini-Me" and "Fat Bastard," as well as much more Doctor Evil scenes and ideas, which were the highlights of the first film (and generally all three actually). Both two, new main characters add to the general mayhem and funny parts, as well as does Rob Lowe as a younger Robert Wagner ("number two"), but there are many new incarnations and developments from the first film which only add greatly to the original concepts. Mainly, consistent referrals back to the original effort, and imaginative additions and refinements to the first movie.
Overall, the second film of this original trilogy is without a doubt, in my opinion, the best, and earns 5 stars, without a doubt, baby.
AUSTIN POWERS, GOLDMEMBER (the third):
After some clever and innovative beginnings, but which rely more on their star-studded offerings than their genuine humor or originality, this third Austin Powers film was/is undoubtedly the weakest of the three, but is no doubt worth at least four stars. Mike Myers adds and plays yet another character here, besides Austin, Dr. Evil, and Fat Bastard, in the form of Goldmember, but a lot of the jokes and humor here falls kinda flat more often than not. While it is still a great comedy, it is without question a step down from the first and second films. The female lead, strong and relevant in the two previous efforts, is lacking here, because while singer Beyonce is as gorgeous as Austin's prior two female partners, her acting leaves a lot to be desired, and there really is no "chemistry" between Austin and her as was strongly present in the first two films. There is also a continual but mostly tame, self-referential mock-parody of the series itself here, which gives me the feeling that this third entry wasn't too well thought out or written as were the original and first sequel.
Therefore, at best, Goldmember barely manages 4 stars. But its still pretty good compared to most other studio-released comedies, despite various shortcomings.
After all is said and done, while this type of Airplane/Naked Gun series throws everything at the screen in rapid order, in hopes that at least a few of the many jokes and humorous ideas may stick, and add up to a truly enjoyable time and DVD collection bargain, these films and their own unique brand of humor, do just what they're intended to do. And that is, to make us laugh or at least smile. That is Mike Myers's general career gift to us all, and these three films will always do that for those who appreciate humor for humor's sake. Even if you've seen all three, this is a great buy in that it affords not only commercial free and uncensored, uninterrupted versions of Myers' genius (seeing as how mainstream TV showings of all three seem heavily edited), but a great addition to anyone's collection of rainy-day, forget-your-troubles for awhile, get-a-way movie pleasures. While a lot of the humor is crude and bodily-functioned, sophomoric nonsense, and definitely not suited for all tastes, a lot of the humor and intent additionally hits the mark more often than not. And while most of the hilarity aims for nothing more than what is actually presented, throughout the series, there are equally funny but subtle ideas and perceptions scattered about which one can only discern with repeated viewings.
If and whenever there is a fourth movie in this series, I can hardly wait. Because while the first movie is great, the second even better and arguably the best, the third flawed but still hilarious in parts, all three together for the low price being asked as I write this, is no doubt probably one of the best film comedy collection bargains ever offered. And remember, as was stated in the second film, paraphrasing, try not to think too hard about any of this making much sense, and just enjoy the overwhelmingly silly ride.
Yeah baby!
2008-02-19 - This triple pack of Austin Powers includes all three movies and boy it's definitely worth the price. My favorite of the trilogy is the last one, Goldmember, that one is hilarious and has the most outlandish jokes. This is a great gift idea, a must-have. Buy it today!
Austin Powers 1-3 set 
2007-12-27 - The movies are excellent and in great condition. I liked the 2nd and 3rd ones the best, but to truly appreciate those, the 1st one is necessary :) A good deal through amazon. I am pleased with my purchases.
Austin Powers
2007-10-17 - I received all three Austin Powers movies unlike the last package I received with one missing. They were all in good shape.
