I have seen both the Spy Who Shagged me and Goldmember. I finally got to see the first movie. Better late than never. For the record, Goldmember was the first movie I saw in theaters. I was twelve when it came out. This move came out when I was six. I was not necessarily allowed to see these movies until Goldmember came out. I just never got around to seeing the other two until a lot later.

I loved Goldmember when I saw it. I enjoyed the Spy Who Shagged Me. I enjoyed Austin Powers International Man of Mystery. I thought it was funny. It was fitting for the franchise. There have been several franchises where I have liked the sequels better than the originals. Charlie’s Angels, the movies with Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, and Lucy Liu for example is a franchise I enjoyed but I liked the sequel better than the original. I wanted to see the sequel when it was coming out, so I saw the first movie in preparation for seeing the sequel. At that time, I did not like the first movie. I have not seen it since, so I am not sure if my opinion would change. Matrix is another example. I saw the first one right before seeing Matrix Reloaded in theaters. Unlike a lot of other people who loved The Matrix, I did not like the first one. I liked Reloaded and Revolutions. It happens but I am happy to say I did like the first Austin Powers. Two things that surprised me were that Seth Green was in this one as Scott Evil, Dr. Evil’s son and that Verne Troyer was not in this as Mini Me. It has been years since I saw the Spy Who Shagged Me, but I thought Mini Me was in all the films. I also thought Scott Evil was introduced in the Spy Who Shagged Me.

The fact I saw this after seeing the other two did not really affect my opinion. If anything, I viewed it as a prequel of seeing how the characters first met and the established history. This is usually how I go into watching movies or television shows if I have seen later films in the franchise or in the case of a television show being aware of what had already happened in the show or joining the party late into an established show and then going back to watch the beginning episodes. The cast does a great job and Mike Myers is really the star of playing multiple roles. He is great as both Austin Powers and Dr. Evil. The supporting cast also stands out specifically Mindy Sterling, Seth Green, Robert Wagner, and Michael York. They have been in all three films, and they are funny to watch in their respective roles. It seems that the later films went a little heavier on celebrity cameos compared to this one which would make sense since this was the first movie. I do think the movie holds up well. I enjoyed it. I thought it was fun and I was laughing a fair amount of the time. I thought Elizabeth Hurly did a good job as Vanessa Kensington who is a coworker/love interest for Austin Powers. Since this franchise is predominantly a parody of the James Bond franchise, Elizabeth Hurly fit the bill for the “Bond Girl” type which carried over into the other sequels where each film had the “Powers Girl.” Heather Graham filled the role in the Spy Who Shagged Me while the Queen Bey herself, Beyonce made her acting debut in Goldmember filling the role.

Austin Powers International Man of Mystery is a fun movie. One thing that I am slightly confused about is how this movie got a sequel. I enjoyed the movie but from a financial standpoint this movie did not really set the world on fire. Its domestic gross was 53 million. Of course, the Spy Who Shagged Me and Goldmember both went on to make over 200 million each domestically. It seems the powers that be were willing to give the franchise a chance and they were right to do so. If only Hollywood had that mentality now a days. Ever since Goldmember there have been talks about doing a fourth movie. I hope they get around to it. I would love to see the franchise continue a little longer even if its just for one more movie. This franchise is a lot of fun and its very funny.