Austin Powers 2: The Spy Who Shagged Me (video)
First, he fought for the Crown. Now hes fighting for the Family Jewels.
Rating: 5/10
Running Time: 95 minutes
UK Certificate: 15
On DVD
The problem with making a sequel to a fish-out-of-water movie is that, invariably, the chances are its going to be about the fish going back into the water and who wants to see that?
So, just as placing swinging sixties spy hipster Austin Powers (Mike Myers) in a 90s setting produced bountiful comic opportunities last time round, a Powers flick actually taking place in the sixties turns out to be more than a little flat.
The story goes a little something like this. Dr Evil (still the star of the show, and still also played by Myers) has travelled back in time to 1969, where hes somehow managed to steal Austins mojo and, once again, is planning a dastardly scheme to hold the entire planet to ransom. So back too goes our hero, where hes swiftly joined by sexy sidekick Felicity Shagwell (Heather Graham) for the ensuing retro-based hijinks.
Myers, as we all know, is a funny bloke, so its not surprising to come across a reasonable quotient of chortlesome moments as the 95 minutes trundle away. Not only does he up his own workload by taking on the part of a THIRD character (ginger, morbidly obese and not-very-inventively-named Scotsman Fat Bastard), but he also gives Dr Evil a pint-sized henchman in the form of 32-inch baby-man Mini Me (Verne Troyer).
But, for all Myers effort, this isnt a patch on the original, with much of it consisting of the same jokes recycled from the first film. If used sparingly, that could have been a clever idea, as it lets us all think were privy to an in-joke (and therefore a bit special). Unfortunately, its overdone to the point that you just end up suspecting Myers and co-writer Michael McCullers didnt really have nearly enough fresh ideas to make this work.
It's Got: Springers final thought.
It Needs: You all to take care of yourselves and each other.
DVD Extras Audio commentary, cast and crew bios, a trailer, cameos menu, music vids, behind the scenes footage, deleted scenes and a hidden Dr Evil menu featuring the Belgian baldies renditions of What If God Was One Of Us and Just The Two Of Us, along with some classic Evil schemes gone awry. Unfortunately, I couldnt find it. Its hidden, you see. DVD Extras Rating: 7/10
Summary
Quasi-groovy. Semi-groovy. The margarine of groovy. The Diet Coke of groovy just one calorie not groovy enough!