Every 'Austin Powers' Movie, Ranked
Vote up the best, most shagadelic installments in the Austin Powers franchise.
A quiet hit in theaters and a mega-hit on home video, Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery became one of the all-time greatest comedy movies and kicked off a franchise that’s made nearly $500 million worldwide. While Austin's catchphrases aren't shouted as regularly or as loudly as they were in the early 2000s, the series has remained a major part of culture, eclipsing Mike Myers's Wayne's World in iconography, quotability, and nostalgia.
On the surface, the films are a parody of the James Bond franchise with plenty of Saturday Night Live-style absurdity thrown in, but they’re so much more than that. The Austin Powers franchise as a whole is more like a love letter to British culture of the 1960s and ‘70s. There’s no consensus on what exactly inspired Myers to create the character - besides Bond, Austin has been said to be inspired by ’60s BBC DJ Simon Dee, Michael Caine’s character Harry Palmer in the 1965 movie The Ipcress File and the Burt Bacharach song “The Look of Love,” which explains why Bacharach appears in all three movies.
But at his core, Austin is a romantic soul who covers that up with a healthy dose of ‘60s-style libidinousness. A man out of time, he’s struck a chord with audiences strong enough to warrant three movies, plus a one-hour special that aired on MTV, an obscure media relic that some fans of the franchise will argue is a better watch than Goldmember, so it's included alongside the three films of the trilogy for the sake of thoroughness.
Is Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me better than Austin Powers in Goldmember? Can either of them really compare to the first film? And how does the deep cut promotional special compare?
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The Mission: Mike Myers is Austin Powers, a groovy 1960s fashion photographer by day, and Great Britain’s best spy by night. When his nemesis Dr. Evil (also played by Myers) blasts off into space in a giant Big Boy, Austin is cryogenically frozen to save himself for the moment when Dr. Evil reappears. When Dr. Evil returns three decades later, it’s up to a thawed Austin and his new partner, Vanessa Kensington (Elizabeth Hurley), to stop Dr. Evil’s latest diabolical plan to hijack nuclear weapons and hold the world hostage for $100 billion.
Why It’s Still Groovy: While the parody of the 007 movies of the Sean Connery and Roger Moore eras is impeccably detailed, the strongest humor in the movie comes from Austin and Dr. Evil’s respective personal problems, which have nothing to do with the spy plot. Austin struggles to adapt to a modern world that doesn’t accept his chauvinist, oblivious, and frequently offensive behavior, while Dr. Evil finds himself the unexpected father of a resentful Gen-Xer named Scott (Seth Green). While Dr. Evil’s conflict continues throughout the rest of the series, Austin’s is mostly resolved by the end of the first.
Beyond that, it’s also a movie that not only dominated the zeitgeist when it came out, but continues to have a long-lasting cultural impact. Austin Powers is responsible for everything from the direction of the James Bond franchise to the popularity of hairless sphinx cats.
Shagadelic Quote: “Oh, behave.”
Funniest Moment: Again, the first Austin Powers has an advantage that subsequent ones don’t: both Austin and Dr. Evil are revived after missing out on thirty years of culture, leaving them clueless about everything that transpired around the world for three decades. When Austin is first unthawed, he’s shocked to discover a general from Russian intelligence is present, thinking the Cold War is still ongoing. When informed that the war is over, Austin then mistakenly assumes the Soviets won, saying “Finally those capitalist pigs will pay for their crimes, eh comrades?” When his boss Basil Exposition (Michael York) brings him up to speed, Austin offers a meek, “Yay capitalism.”
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The Mission: When Dr. Evil returns from cryo-stasis for a second time in 1999, he time travels back to 1969 to steal Austin’s mojo, making Austin literally and figuratively impotent. Austin travels back in time himself and teams up with CIA Agent Felicity Shagwell (Heather Graham) to stop Dr. Evil’s latest plan, which is to build a laser on the moon that can destroy cities.
Why It’s Still Groovy: While some critics of 1999 faulted the movie for not living up to its predecessor, it still has several memorable comedic set pieces, like the extended opening musical number during which a nude Austin strolls through a hotel resort while celebrating his newly single status, with a series of objects blocking a view of his “twig and berries.” It also introduces Dr. Evil’s diminutive clone Mini-Me (Verne Troyer) to the mix, and retcons Scott's conception to be the result of a time travel tryst between Dr. Evil and his henchwoman Frau Farbissina (Mindy Sterling). There’s also Myers’s third character in the series, Fat B*stard, who was a point of criticism at the time and hasn't aged as well as other characters.
Shagadelic Quote: “ It's true! You're semi-evil. You're quasi-evil. You're the margarine of evil. You're the Diet Coke of evil. Just one calorie, not evil enough." - Dr Evil to Scott.
Funniest Moment: The moonbase showdown/throwdown between Austin and Mini-Me, not just because of their disparity in sizes, but also because Austin is reluctant to fight him in the first place, which allows Mini-Me to do most of the damage, even climbing around in Austin's spacesuit. And the instances of violence against Mini-Me use obvious dolls and dummies, a reliably silly gag.
- 343 VOTES
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The Mission: In 2002, Dr. Evil launches his latest evil scheme: traveling back in time to 1975 to team up with the gold-obsessed inventor Johann van der Smut, AKA “Goldmember,” (once again played by Myers), who’s invented a “tractor beam” that will pull a meteor into Earth’s orbit, and thus allow them to extort the entire planet for ransom. This plot also involves kidnapping Austin’s father, fellow Ministry of Defense agent Nigel Powers (Michael Caine). Austin travels back to 1975 to stop it, teaming up with his ex-love interest Foxxy Cleopatra (Beyoncé).
Why It’s Still Groovy: For starters, there’s a movie-within-a-movie that’s packed with celebrity cameos including Tom Cruise, John Travolta, Steven Spielberg, and Danny DeVito. If that’s not enough, you get to watch Queen Bey pay homage to blaxploitation icon Pam Grier. But yes, this one is the final entry in the franchise for a reason, as it’s just 53% Fresh among the critics and 44% fresh among the fans on Rotten Tomatoes.
Shagadelic Quote: “There are only two things I can't stand in this world: People who are intolerant of other people's cultures, and the Dutch." - Nigel Powers
Funniest Moment: At one point, Basil introduces Austin to the MoD’s mole within Dr. Evil’s organization, Number Three (Fred Savage) who coincidentally has a huge mole on his face. Austin tries so hard not to notice it that he repeatedly blurts out the word “mole!” He also points directly at it, making for a beat that's refreshingly silly and small stakes in this big, big sequel.
- 415 VOTES
Austin Powers' Electric Psychedelic Pussycat Swingers Club
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The Mission: This one doesn’t exactly have a mission, as it’s a “TV movie” from 1997 that’s mostly a 42-minute parody of the 1960s comedy variety series Laugh-In. Like in the movie, Austin is Great Britain’s best spy who was cryogenically frozen in the 1960s and thawed in the late 1990s to combat his nemesis. Unlike in the movies, Austin is hosting a variety show that’s been created to promote the movie. ("Electric Psychedelic Pussycat" is also the name of the club Austin frequents in 1967). The special features clips from the first movie, musical numbers from musicians like Beck, cameos from people like Rosie O’Donnell and Kurt Loder, sketches, and lots of dancing.
Why It’s Still Groovy: Yes, a lot of the special consists of clips from the movie, but some of the segments are comedically strong. Like the movies, it’s aware of itself and its contrivances: at one point, a fake police officer scolds Austin for stealing a line directly from Laugh-In.
Shagadelic Quote: “Tests are for squares, baby.”
Funniest Moment: Amid all the silly and lighthearted proceedings, things turns serious when Austin discovers a square at the party. Realizing the man’s unaware that he’s a square, Austin holds a very, very serious intervention.
