Austin Powers in Goldmember on DVD
The third installment of Mike Myers James Bond spoof is
easily the weakest of the set, though it still has its moments and will
undoubtedly please the millions of Powers fans around the world.
The story this time, again, involves a scheme for world domination
by Dr. Evil (Myers), this time aided by fellow evildoer Goldmember (Myers,
again). Theyre going to flood the world by melting the polar ice (rather
than waiting for global warming to do it, we suppose), unless they get a ransom
of an amount of money that amounts to gibberish.
To further complicate things, Austin (Myers) also has to save his
secret agent father, Nigel (Michael Caine), forcing him yet again back to the
past - this time the disco-dripping year of 1975.
His lust interest and sidekick this time around is Beyoncé
Knowles as a Pam Grier-ish Foxxy Cleopatra, and the cast is rounded out by so
many cameo appearances that trying to see wholl be next gets in the way
of the story - not that thats necessarily a bad thing, since this story
doesnt come close to the imagination or humor of the first two Austin
Powers films.
Despite the many laughs (teenage boys will probably love the
humor) Austin Powers in Goldmember definitely shows that the concept has run
its course and should be put to bed. Then again, the real James Bond movies ran
out of steam about the same time Connery left, yet theyve still provided
plenty of entertainment since then
But this time around, co-writer Myers relies less on his wit and
more on shtick, childish bathroom humor, and spoofing pop culture. This is
nothing new for Austin Powers flicks, of course, but here it moves from being
knee slapping hilarious to just being there for the sake of it. Too bad.
The characters from the other movies are back again, including
Verne Troyer as Mini-Me, Michael York as Basil Exposition (Austin Powers
version of M), Seth Green as Scott Evil, Robert Wagner as Number
Two and Mindy Sterling as Frau Farbissina, but at times they appear almost
embarrassed to be there, where before they were happily part of the gags.
Oh, youll definitely have to see this entry if youve
enjoyed the others, but in the end it comes off as more a self indulgent
in-joke than a classic spoof in the manner of the first Austin Powers movies.
It made us want to watch Our Man Flint again.
The DVD is one of New Lines Infinifilm discs, which means
its loaded with all sorts of special materials. Unfortunately, we only
received a pre-release screener and all it did was list the features, so we
cant comment on whether or not theyre any good - but they sure
sound neat!
Heres a listing of whats offered:
Beyond the Movie features:
- Documentaries
- MI-6: International Men of Mystery
- Fashion Vs. Fiction
- Disco Fever
- Fact track (trivia subtitle track)
All Access Pass features:
- Filmmaker commentary - Jay Roach and Mike Myers
- The World of Austin Powers
- Jay Roach & Mike Myers: Creative Convergence
- Confluence of characters
- Star Search: the Kids
- Opening Stunts
- The Cars of Austin Powers in Goldmember
- Anatomy of three scenes
- Visual FX segment
- Deleted/Alternate Scenes with optional commentary
- Music Videos
- Trailers
Theres also some DVD ROM component, including a feature
thatll supposedly let you record your own voice in a dozen scenes.
The picture quality seems fine, though because it was a screener
it faded to black and white periodically (to make it less desirable to pirates)
so we dont really know how itll end up. Its being offered in
both anamorphic widescreen (16x9 TV compatible) and Pan&Scan versions, in
separate packages, so as usual we recommend you buy the widescreen version
because itll last you over the long run. Audio is Dolby Digital 5.1 and
DTS surround, and its probably fine as well, but our screener was only in
stereo and so we cant comment on how it uses the surround channels.
Austin Powers in Goldmember, from New Line Home Entertainment,
95 min. anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1), 16x9 TV compatible/Pan&Scan,
Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS surround sound
Starring Mike Myers, Beyoncé Knowles, Michael Caine, Seth Green,
Robert Wagner
Produced by John Lyons, Mike Myers
Written by Mike Myers and Michael McCullers, Directed by Jay
Roach
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