After the critical and commercial success of Austin Powers and the Spy Who Shagged Me, it was inevitable that a sequel followed and in 2002 Austin Powers in Goldmember was released. Acting as a direct parody of the James Bond films You Only Live Twice and Goldfinger, Austin Powers in Golmember continues to satirize 1960s and 70s spy films, while even going as far as to satirize its own history in the over-the-top Austinpussy opening, which is guest-directed by Steven Spielberg and stars Tom Cruise, Gwyneth Paltrow, Danny DeVito and John Travolta.
Dr. Evil (Mike Myers) plans to travel back in time to bring Johan Van Der Smut (also Myers) back with him to the future so that he can use the Dutchman’s cold fusion tractor beam to pull a meteor toward Earth. Just before he is able carry out his plan British Secret Service, lead by Austin Powers (Myers once again) strike and arrest him. While he is being dealt with Powers realises that Van Der Smut has kidnapped his father Nigel Powers (Michael Caine).
To say that Goldmember is self-referential is like calling The Life of Brian mildly amusing. From the blistering opening scene, which houses the most in-joke film-within-a-film reference, possibly of all time, you know that it’s going to be a relentless slew of knowing looks and recycled laughs. What is surprising is how well it’s handled considering how little new material there is. The addition of the stereotypical Dutchman Goldmember more than makes up for the continued use of the not-so-funny Fat Bastard, while Myers other creation Dr. Evil actually brings elements of pathos to an almost exclusively comic role.
Golmember often drifts into sentiment and pastiche of previous installments as well as the spy genre of the 1960s and 70s and acts as a fitting, if slightly tired conclusion to the Austin Powers trilogy. Better than the original, but lacking the impact of The Spy Who Shagged Me, Goldmember is a sweetly-natured, gross-out comedy that neatly wraps up the stories of Austin Powers and Dr. Evil with more care and attention than perhaps either deserves.
Related Reviews:
Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)
Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999)
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