Review of Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999) by Kai82 — 20 Mar 2021

The second Austin Powers movie. Like for the prequel it depends on how much you enjoy this kind of humor and a 1/10 is as much valid as a 10/10 with this in mind. I will however say it is to carefully made to be rated lower than a 4/10 even if you dislike the humor.

It is a parody of James Bond movies in Mike Myers style. The story starts very shortly after the events of the prequel with a strange revelation I wont spoil (They at least explain what happened to the “Bond Girl” or should I say Austin Girl from the last movie;-).

Shortly after Austin recognized that his Mojo has been stolen (His power-source for his attractiveness, confidence and prowess). It seems clear that only his archenemy Dr. Evil can be the mastermind behind it and so starts his amusing quest to get his Mojo back.

Again the humor is the greatest strength of the movie. It has all sorts from clever jokes, word puns, satire, toilet humor up to some really dirty jokes. Most jokes work well for me and it surpasses the prequel in this regard for me.

Would say >90% work if I had to put numbers on it and I don't remember a spectacular misfire. The new characters work well with the excellent Mini Me, Fat Bastard (yes that is his name) and Felicity. I say they improved and developed the humor.

The acting is really solid for this kind of movie. Lets start with Mike Myers as Austin Powers, Dr. Evil and Fat Bastard (I was not joking about the name). He fully delivers and the roles are made for him (He is also co-writer and co-producer).

You can see the enjoyment and fun he had and this improves the movie. I already praised Verne Troyer as Mini Me as he is a character I enjoyed. Heather Graham as Felicity is a good addition to the movie and I like how they play with the tropes with her character (I don't use her last name for obvious reasons.

Just look it up if you are interested;-). For the rest of the cast I again praise Mindy Sterling as Frau Farbissina, Seth Green as Scott Evil and Robert Wagner as Number 2 (Still forgot if they named him in the franchise).

Visually and special effects like the movie does a solid performance even if they did not need to. The soundtrack is really awesome with R.E.M, The Who, Madonna, Green Day and Lenny Kravitz songs. It is not entirely my cup of tea but without doubt a strong composition.

Overall this is my favorite movie in the franchise and worth watching for its entertaining humor. As already mentioned the style of humor is not for everybody and I can fully understand if you dislike this movie.