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Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery
New Line Cinema

Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery reviews


8.0

based on 25 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 21 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

Internet Movie Database

MPAA RATING: PG-13 for nudity, sex-related dialogue and humor

Starring Mike Myers, Elizabeth Hurley, Michael York, Mimi Rogers, and Robert Wagner

After being cryogenically frozen for thirty years, superagent Austin Powers (Myers) returns to battle the insidious Dr. Evil (Myers).

GENRE(S):	Comedy
WRITTEN BY:	Mike Myers
DIRECTED BY:	Jay Roach
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: October 21, 1997 Video: October 21, 1997 Theatrical: May 2, 1997
RUNNING TIME:	90 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

TNT RoughCut Graham Verdon

Myers gives us all of the exaggerated physical schtick of Jim Carrey plus the added bonus of wickedly clever writing that refuses to let you escape.

San Francisco Examiner G. Allen Johnson

Austin is funny, extremely funny, because he is so ridiculous, and because Myers is a brilliant mimic who, like Martin Short, knows how to do ridiculous.

Variety Leonard Klady

Definitely lives up to its promise of being smashing, groovy, baby.

Mr. Showbiz Michael Atkinson

Myers has hit upon a genuinely original schtick, and that fact alone is immeasurably groovy.

Austin Chronicle Robert Faires

Austin Powers is the kind of movie Mel Brooks used to make -- extravagantly funny, with plenty of juvenile humor, but as much or more of it smart, delivered with a dead aim at a cultural milestone, affection for its victim, and style.

USA Today Susan Wloszczyna

His (Myers) affection for the era and its gaudy, bawdy movies inject this bit of fluff with giddy energy.

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

A little of this sort of thing goes a long way, but no one does it better than Myers.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

A funny movie that only gets funnier the more familiar you are with the James Bond movies, all the Bond clones and countless other 1960s films.

San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle

Austin Powers sounded like a silly idea, but it turns out to be one of the best comedies of the year.

Chicago Tribune John Petrakis

The key to the film, however, is the joyous performance of Mike Myers, who plays both the Beatle-mopped Austin Powers and the bald-headed Dr. Evil.

Washington Post John F. Kelly

We may not need as many Austin Powers movies as there are James Bond pictures, but one or two more might be nice.

ReelViews James Berardinelli

There are times when Austin Powers drags. It can be difficult to sustain even the best humor for ninety minutes, and this film, for all of the laughs it offers, is far from the best.

The New York Times Janet Maslin

As goofy and throwaway as the "Brady Bunch" movies, but it has the same winking appreciation of vintage kitsch.

Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum

What's really fun about this silly but spirited comedy isn't just the ribbing of "swinging London" fashion and social attitudes but the use of the compulsive zooms and split-screen mosaics of commercial movies of the 60s.

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

The drawn-out, lowbrow humor is either "love it" or "hate it," so it may not be your bag, baby.

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

Amiable, brightly colored spoof of '60s pop culture.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Rick Groen

The result is less a screenplay than a manic quote machine.

New York Daily News Dave Kehr

A few well-timed laughs and a lot of filler.

Dallas Observer Peter Rainer

What the movie mostly sends up is its star and screenwriter, Michael Myers. That's not all bad.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Maria Schneider

It helps that Myers has Powers down pat. Still, the need to parody "Casino Royale" could have been taken care of in an eight-minute TV skit; instead, we're given nearly 90 minutes of someone else's party.

Los Angeles Times John Anderson

The result is a comedy of errors. Errors, yes. Comedy . . . we're not so sure.

Washington Post Rita Kempley

Piddling spoof.

Salon.com Laura Miller

Without a genuinely charming central character to pull it together, the movie is a shamble of tedious passages punctuated by a few desultory chuckles.

LA Weekly F. X. Feeney

Mike Myers wrote the abominable script, plays both leads and is miscast in each.

Film.com Sean Means

I see Austin Powers as Myers' desperate cry for help -- a plea to stop him before he does schtick again.

The average user rating for this movie is 8.0 (out of 10) based on 21 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Rod G. gave it an8:
I'm finding that the users rating is much closer to being accurate than the critics ratings. This movie was funny. The scene with Tom Arnold in the bathroom is classic comedy. I laughed so hard I cried.

R Dalvi gave it a10:
Very funny. Almost had me in tears. Myers is superb.

Joseph B. gave it a10:
Overall this film is a must-see spoof that will cause you to laugh out loud and cringe at the same time. It represents the sixties culture and how much different events are nowadays in a fully satisfying way.

[Anonymous] gave it an8:
Non stop laughs. And a slap at James Bond movies of the old days. Some things go a little crude and over the top, though.

Dave C. gave it a 7:
Funnier, sharper and less reliant on crudness than the sequals. Austin Powers: International Man Of Mystery is unrelenting in its assault of priceless gags.

Andrew M gave it a 6:
This first AP is the weakest of the trilogy. That's odd; it's the last thing you would have thought possible when it first came out! There are certainly plenty of funny moments in the film...but it's in these where it's different to the sequels...Int'l Man Of Mystery seems more structured, like a play, set out in Acts 1,2,3, and accordingly the gags flow with an orchestrated rhythm. Funny though the jokes are, it's this 'construction' that ultimately detracts from the film, detracts from the loose, flippant insanity that the two sequels provided. Sure, they are structured as well, but you couldn't tell as much as with this one. The sequels have an added zaniness that makes you laugh even when Myers didn't ask you to. The whole films are just naturally funny, not just the set gags. Myers has never changed his Powers character but he fits into his clothes better these days. If you watch this one first (as no doubt you are intended to) you won't be disappointed; but, watch the others first (especially Spy Who Shagged..) and I'd say you will be!

Pat C. gave it a 2:
Annoying. Part 1.

Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery New Line Cinema

Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery
New Line Cinema