AUSTIN POWERS: INTERNATIONAL MAN OF MYSTERY

This James Bond spoof has a clever basic setup: a secret agent frozen in the 1960s is thawed in the 1990s to stop his returning enemy. But the film never develops that premise into consistently good comedy. Its retro-speak, stock spy elements, poor script, and juvenile humor make the experience shallow and tiresome.

The larger problem is Austin Powers himself. He is sexually aggressive, repeatedly pursues a woman who refuses him, and becomes the center of jokes involving male anatomy and sexual behavior. The film also includes moderate violence, profanity, nudity, alcohol, and smoking.

The practical answer is simple: skip it and choose something cleaner and more genuinely funny.

In 1967, Austin Powers works as a fashion photographer by day and a secret agent by night. When his bald, cat-loving enemy, Dr. Evil, escapes in a spaceship and freezes himself for a future return, the British Government freezes Austin, too.

When both men are thawed in 1997, Austin partners with Ms. Kensington, the daughter of a former colleague, to stop Dr. Evil's threat to the world.

Two stars means this film has a workable premise but delivers mediocre entertainment. It clearly spoofs James Bond, borrowing the villain, sets, womanizing hero, gadgets, and other stock elements of the spy genre. The 1960s clothes and free-living attitudes also recall the Beatles and Laugh In.

But the mix does not work well. Austin's repeated “baby” vocabulary becomes tiresome, the humor is sophomoric and juvenile, and the script is poor. Viewers familiar with the 1960s or early James Bond films may find the spoof shallow and dull.

The film presents a sexually aggressive spy as its comic center. Austin Powers is a womanizer whose advances are treated as part of his charm, even when Ms. Kensington insists that their relationship remain professional. Sexual jokes, innuendo, and an enlarging device for his male sexual organ make sexual behavior a primary source of humor rather than treating it with restraint or dignity.

Its worldview also borrows the free-living attitudes associated with the 1960s. The result is a comic world where sexual aggressiveness, objectification, crude bodily humor, and other forms of immorality are used for entertainment. That departs from a biblical view of sexuality, which calls people to holiness rather than exploiting sexual desire for laughs.

The casting and character pairing do not provide a strong comic balance. Elizabeth Hurley's contemporary smart-girl attitude is presented as no comic counterpart to Austin's misogynist ways, and the review finds any comic potential lost.

Scripture offers a clearer direction: “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality” (1 Thessalonians 4:3).

This film has a recognizable spy-spoof premise, but its poor script, shallow humor, sexual aggressiveness, and substantial content concerns outweigh its limited comic appeal. For your family or your own viewing, SKIP IT. For better options, see.