Dir: Jay Roach. Starring: Mike Myers, Beyonce Knowles, Michael Caine, Verne Troyer, Michael York, Robert Wagner, Seth Green.
Too many film series have lost their way by the third film. Star Wars, Jaws and The Godfather movies are the most famous examples, but there are hundreds more out there. So would Austin’s third outing disappoint? Or would it manage a rare feat and actually be better than it’s predecessors?
Well, it is a lot better than the second movie, which in our view was just a cynical rehashing of the first, but it’s not as good as the original. A few too many jokes from the earlier films are recycled here, and though they supposedly cleverly parody this during the movie, it still feels a little disappointing. And part of the problem is that it feels more like a collection of sketches rather than a cohesive whole, and whilst much is fantastic, there are more than a couple of flawed moments.
The worst of these is a spectacularly misjudged rap by Dr Evil whilst in Prison, in which he, Eminem style, bitches about his life, whilst the inmates behind him sing and dance to ‘It’s a hardknock life’ from that most hated of all musicals, Annie. It’s painful to watch, but, thankfully, over soon. That’s not the only bad scene though. Many of those which feature the eponymous villain Goldmember are a little weak, and whilst the idea behind the character is a great joke initially, it runs out of steam after a little while, and he gets too little to do to be really of any interest, as once again this is really Dr Evil’s film. Oh, and the least said about the cameo’s from The Osbourne’s and Britney Spears the better.
But enough about the bad stuff. Because there’s so much here to enjoy, including a great opening sequence, which sees Steven Spielberg directing a film version of Austin’s life, with Tom Cruise in the lead role, Gwyneth Paltrow as a blonde bimbette sidekick, Kevin Spacey as Dr Evil and Danny DeVito as Mini-me, a superbly cast flashback scene to Austin and Dr Evil’s schooldays, a marvellous fight scene between Austin and Mini-me, Fat Bastard being used to much better effect this time around, and a great Empire Strikes Back-esque revelation in the final few moments which is pretty cool too. There’s also lots more other scenes worthy of mention, but it’d take just take too long to go in to here. And we dont want to spoil it for you.
Performance wise, Myers is great in all four roles (Austin, Dr Evil, Goldmember and Fat Bastard), as you’d expect, and Beyonce Knowles is fine as Foxy Cleopatra too, far better than you may have been led to believe, but doesn’t get that much to do, and isn’t as sassy or as sharp as the blaxploitation characters she’s parodying. But that’s more the fault of the script than her acting prowess. And Michael Caine, as Austin’s Dad, Nigel, is of course fantastic. Whilst not the stretch that The Cider House Rules or Quills might have been for him, as he’s basically parodying the role that made him famous, Harry Palmer (which Myers himself has admitted that Austin is based on), he’s bloody marvellous, and you’ll find yourselves longing for more scenes with him in. Seth Green’s good too, getting more to do this time round, rapidly losing his hair and mirroring his father’s actions to rather fine comedic effect.
So is it worth seeing at the cinema? Well, if you’re a fan of the other two movies, you’ll love it to pieces. But if you’re ambivalent about them, it’s probably best waiting for it on video. And if there was to be a fourth film, which has always been denied by Myers and co, we wouldn’t be complaining, but it really would have to be a little more innovative, with a stronger storyline, to retain our interest.
Alex Finch.
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