Mike Myers is literally everywhere in his third romp as the super suave (and super dated) gentleman spy, playing four significant parts under hefty amounts of makeup and gear. He's still surprisingly funny, as is the film itself, although the screen often feels terribly crowded and the constant diversions and subplots get carried away.

Much more than the two preceding films, Goldmember is a Python-esque collage, a string of skits and strung-out gags with a loose connecting narrative wound in-between. It's joyfully energetic, like a toddler, with an attention span to match. The goofs and send-ups themselves range from hilarious to beaten-to-death (particularly the dumb obsession with one character's absurdly huge mole, which is trotted out in at least three different scenes) and occasionally lean on a weirdly hyper-focused topical humor that's showing its age now. Many of the old bits from preceding films are rolled back out for an encore, but they're matched at least shot-for-shot with new segments that, surprisingly, hold their own.

It's particularly important that the jokes land, because the plot is mostly scraps and stabs. Michael Caine is an inspired choice as Austin's long-lost father, but the two don't get much screen time together and it feels like a wasted opportunity. Beyoncé's take on the classic blaxploitation-era heroine type is spirited, if light and inessential. Despite the shortcomings, it's still good for a few big laughs and my wife and I reference it somewhat regularly. I prefer it to The Spy Who Shagged Me, though it can't hope to match the heart, balance or ingenuity of the original.

In for a penny in for a pound as they say. It would have seemed odd not to watch the third in the series so here we are.

Austin Powers in Goldmember is the point at which the series completely abandons what may seem like a story. There’s more time travel, villains and sex jokes.

There are lots of cameos to distract you from this though! Within the first five minutes we see Tom Cruise, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kevin Spacey, Danny DeVito, Steven Spielberg and Britney Spears. It was so fun in 2002, now it’s… less entertaining.

The cast list got an upgrade too, Beyoncé and Michael Caine join Mike Myers in the battle against Dr. Evil. They are talented enough but they aren’t given much to do. Caine is a good spy-father with his Ipcress File background though and Beyoncé seems to nail the tone of 70s Blaxploitation characters. She’s so young it’s hard to believe she even knows what she’s doing but whatever, it seems to work.

The series still has its original sense of humour, and Roach finds funny ways to re-hash old jokes.

There’s also been somewhat of a budget increase, also used to hilarious effect (I like the Dr. Evil shaped submarine).

This film is as quotable as the others, but this time we simply can’t ignore that the plot is a sprawling mess. It’s a film that’s been written around jokes and it quickly gets tiresome.

All in all it’s a nice 90 minute romp but not one I’m going to come back to in a hurry. Also, to complete the series of pervy observations about the leading ladies, Beyoncé is ssssmokin’. Wait no that’s Ace Ventura.

http://benoliver999.com/film/2015/07/28/austinpowersingoldmember/

**Austin Powers' inglorious end... so far.**

I can't deny that Austin Powers was a landmark franchise for late '90s humor cinema, but the truth is that this film, like its immediate predecessor, isn't funny at all. Here, the script is based on a new conspiracy by Dr. Evil, this time in harmony with a Dutchman fascinated by gold, who wants all the gold he can hoard. So that the English spy doesn't get in his way, he kidnapped and had Powers' father killed.

The script is very weak, has worn-out premises and works, in practice, as a parody of the third film in the Bond franchise. If that was any success initially, in this case it doesn't seem like enough for the movie to work. In addition, the conception of the vast majority of characters is unfortunate because it is very underdeveloped, the writing is terrible and the dialogues horrible, and everything seems just an excuse for an avalanche of jokes. Also, there are characters here that don't really have to be here, like Fat Bastard.

Mike Myers continues to play several characters, in a very intense and truly well-executed role-playing exercise; he tries everything to make his film work, and invests his talent in a truly remarkable way. However, if the recipe no longer works, the actor's effort and talent are simply being wasted. In addition, there are other actors with an equally positive record, such as Verne Troyer, Michael Caine or Beyoncé. The rest hardly matters, and I prefer not to mention the large amount of unnecessary cameos from a series of artists, models and singers. Seeing so many stars appear just for the hell of it doesn't make any sense and gives the film an irritating sense of smugness.

Technically, there are some features that I want to point out, namely the visuals and specials, with Myers playing opposite himself in many occasions and scenes, and the excellent sets and costumes. Unfortunately, the film has a very fast pace and the editing was not very happy, but what is really needed here is some really effective humor, because if the film's formula already seems worn out, the humor of the successive jokes is non-existent.

Weakest of the three in my opinion, but 'Austin Powers in Goldmember' still has some memorable moments.

I enjoyed the star-studded and cameo-filled opening scene, it's well done. Mike Myers is again great in his roles, especially Dr. Evil, and Beyoncé Knowles is a positive addition. The stuff with Dr. Evil isn't as good as in the 1999 film, yet he still made me laugh a few times; he does have one of the series' best moments with the rendition of the Jay-Z song.

However, I did feel a few pacing issues. All in all, it's still worth a watch. As noted, the cameos are solid - and let's just say they chose the perfect actor to play Dr. Evil...

Flat out garbage of a movie. Pure waste of time. The only reason I rated it a 4 is because there were some funny parts. Overall bad movie though.