Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)

I wish I’d been old enough to watch Austin Powers on release. It hit cinemas in the same year as one of my favourite Bond films, Tomorrow Never Dies, and understandably had paying punters rolling in the isles. Mike Myers’ finest creation to date (although there’s certainly an argument for Wayne’s World) was the ultimate parody of the 007 behemoth, riffing heavily on Bond’s ridiculous success with various women, as well as the over the top world dominating villain, complete with henchmen and women. Colourful, ludicrous, and very funny (the penis enlarger prop remains a personal highlight) Austin Powers was amusing enough and lovable to spawn two sequels, no mean feat for a comedy series that began life simply as a Bond rip off. Many have tried with varying success to use the Austin Powers model for their own ventures, none of which match the superiority of Myers character. Austin Powers wasn’t the first spy spoof (Leslie Neilson’s Spy Hard hit theaters a year previously in fact) but it was the the most successful critically and commercially until then, and remains wonderfully funny in 2021. 7.7/10