SHAGADELIC

Supposedly how this boxset can be defined, a term that Austin Powers (Mike Myers) uses to wow the ladies in James Bond fashion throughout the triology. This is not your usual James Bond though, and for those of you who have been living under a rock for 10 years and have never heard of the franchise - it's the Bond spoof, only overtime Austin Powers has became a stand alone film that does not rely on tags such as spoof.

Austin Powers: International Man Of Mystery was the first film in the series to be released back in 1997. This AP featured Elizabeth Hurley as the Bond girl rip-off playing Austin's sidekick named Vanessa Kensington. There is a very 60's feel about this film because afterall that is the decade Austin is from, but after Dr. Evil (also played by Mike Myers) freezes himself and sends himself off into space Austin also has to freeze himself only to be unfroozen when Dr. Evil returns in the 1990's. And this is how the film begins.

Vanessa just so happens to be the daughter of Austin's sidekick back in the 60's, so when the pair are brought together to thwart Dr. Evil's plan to take over the world Austin immediately has sex on his mind. Vanessa reminds Austin that he is in the 90's now though, and not everyone jumps into bed with everyone. This is just the beginning of Austin's troubles understanding everything that has changed over time, even though Vanessa does slowly fall for the detective with the yellow teeth.

There is a very James Bond-esque formula to the film and Dr. Evil's sidekicks are every bit as good as the characters you'd find in a Bond. Whether it be Dr. Evil's cat who has lost all his fur from being frozen or Number Two and Frau Farbissina, who also feature int he following Austin Powers films.

Whilst Dr. Evil has been frozen he has also had a son 'artificially created' in Scott Evil played by Seth Green. Only Scott is not evil enough for his father, creating some typical father-son disagreements that even I have with my dad - only probably not on the subject of not being evil enough.

So by following the clues Austin and Vanessa manage to infiltrate Evil's underground layer but with people standing infront of their steamroller and fetching them yellow serbert will they be able to stop Dr. Evil in time? Judging from there being films to follow, yes. There are some hilarious moments though, one of my favourites coming from when the pair infiltrate Dr. Evil's hideout and Austin has to fight a group of 'fembots' (female robots) who have 'machine gun jubblies', only using his mojo he finds their weakness and makes their heads explode. Those of you who have a soft spot for Mike Myers might find the same happening to you.

With the success of the first film under his belt and an everystory formula set, a sequel was always coming and this time it would be; Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. The title may sound more saucy than the previous, however with the wide spread appeal of Austin Powers it was obviously seen as a good commercial decision to bring the age certificate for the film down from 15 to 12. The characters had been introduced and established, therefore there was a lot they could do with this film and I'm glad to say they did it well!

To kick-off we start where the last film left us on Vanessa and Austin's wedding night, only Liz Hurley hadn't signed on for two films and is written out with her death scene. No hard feels though, afterall Austin is single again. Make room for a new Powers-girl, Felicity Shagwell (Shagwell by name, shag very well by reputation) played by Heather Graham. With Dr. Evil returning to Earth things aren't going to be all laugh for Austin however, as Dr. Evil has created a plan. Whilst Number Two recommends the evil organisation makes their money from stocks in Starbucks Coffee, Dr. Evil would still like to take over the world and his plan involves sending someone back in time to go to Austin's body when it was froozen and remove his mojo. Afterall, Austin is nothing without his mojo. I'd like to say that is slang for his penis, but I'm not quite sure if it's that, attitude, an erection, or what it could be. Nevertheless the film centres around this.

Dr. Evil's return comes as a surprise to his son, Scott, as one of the funniest moments of the film is the Jerry Springer cameo. Scott is on the Jerry Springer Show to discuss how he's not evil enough for his father, along with children who have fathers dressed up as a part of the KKK and Hitler. There's a surprise for Scott on national television however as Dr. Evil comes through the curtain. After some talking things turn into an all out fight.

As Scott is not evil enough this opens Dr. Evil's door for someone new to take after him, and that person is a clone. Only much, much smaller. And Dr. Evil calls him Mini Me. Mini Me dressed exactly the same as Dr. Evil, and even has a mini version of his chair and cat. The pair get on like a house on fire, but that's probably because they are the same person and Mini Me doesn't have the vocal cords to speak back. Another fantastic new character is Fat Bastard, also played by Mike Myers. His character is very much what it says on the tin, and is an obese Scottish man. Fat Bastard is the one who steals Austin's mojo, starting an instant rivalry between the two.

If Dr. Evil can have a time machine then Austin can as well, just like James Bond gets all his gadgets near the start of every film. Only Austin's time machine comes in the form of a car with fluffy dice. It is when Austin returns to the 60's, where he is still the sex symbol he ever was, that he meets Felicity. After adapting to the 90's (this film is set in 1999) it maybe hard for Austin to change back to the rules of his decade, especially when the girls such as Felicity are still living by the rules of the year they believe it is. For example, Felicity has to sleep with Fat Bastard in order to place a tracking device on him to lead them to Dr. Evil, some news that Austin does not take well.

The film is a quest for Austin to rediscover his mojo so he can finally enjoy his relationship with Felicity as well as stopping Dr. Evil from taking over the world. This will even lead to a rather odd moon hideout finale. It's Hollywood though, they can do what they want. If this all comes together the way Austin wants it to it should be a perfect ending, now what do you think will happen?

Finally comes the finale to the trilogy with Austin Powers: Goldmember. Clearly a spoof on the James Bond title. So will this finally be it for Austin Powers and Dr. Evil's rivalry that has been spread over 5 years (1997-2002) or about 40 years in their time? There was a lot to live up to with this film and the stars were queuing up to be a part of it.

And Mike Myers star power is mimicked in the beginning for Goldmember, as it shows a film being made following his life. Austin's not quite sure about the beginning to the film however, and demonstrates how he would like the film to begin. Enter the typically over-the-top and colourful credits, even featuring Britney Spears as a fembot. Britney is not the only big name music star in the film though, as with Felicity out of the picture it's time for a new lead woman in Foxxy Cleopatra played by Beyonce Knowledges, formerly of Destiny's Child. Beyonce also starred on the soundtrack for this film with 'Work It Out', along side Britney Spears 'Boys' and Dr. Evil's cover of 'Hard Knock Life'.

Whilst the film does feature favourite characters Fat Bastard and Mini Me, with the latter becoming a mini representative for the good side in the film, there is also the introduction of Austin's father in Nigel Powers (Michael Caine). I was not a fan of Austin's father being enlisted into the film however it is a central part of the film. After Dr. Evil and Mini Me escape from their high security prison they join forces with Goldmember, they kidnap Nigel. Shortly after being knighted by the Queen, Sir Austin Powers, Austin receives the news and assumes that is why his father was not there for the ceremony - only to find out he was actually kidnapped later that day. This opens up the door to Austin's resentment towards his father but he still wants to save him and Foxxy jumps on board to help him.

Austin finds Foxxy in 1975, the pair have met before and aparently their relationship didn't end nicely, only Foxxy cannot stay mad at Austin. Foxxy has her own anger towards Goldmember as he was responsible for the death of her detective partner, leading to why Foxxy wants to be brought forward to the year 2002. Can the pair together stop Dr. Evil and Goldmember from destroying Earth? The typically OTT aim of the villians.

For the first time ever we are treated to flashbacks revealing the past of Austin, and how his father was never there for him. We also discover that Dr. Evil and Austin were actually room mates at college. Whilst Austin was wowing the ladies, Dr. Evil remained uptight. There is also a huge revelation at the end of the film, only I can't help but think it ruined the film for me.

When Dr. Evil was locked a way in prison a shocking thing occured, Scott Evil, actually started to turn evil. With the father and son now having something in common this is what pushes Mini Me out of the picture, only Scott is getting a little too creepy for his father. In fact a lot of things are getting creepy for Dr. Evil, as the Dutch Goldmember keeps attempting to paint mens 'yoo-hoo' gold. Everyone also has a hide time understanding Goldmember, only this is not where the funniest moments of the film come from.

To be fair apart from Dr. Evil and Mini Me singing 'Hard Knock Life' together in prison before breaking out I'm not sure where the funniest moments of the film comes from. The film is funny, only I would not say as good as the first two. The film goes for laughs by having a recurring character in a man with a big mole on his face that everyone can't stop staring at, but that can only entertain you so long. And for the record I have no features such as that on my face, so that's not a bias opinion or anything along those lines.

That all but completes my review and I would say the first two movies are must-sees no matter what age you are, the second being the better of the two. The third in my opinion is the worst out of the three, but as the franchise gets older I suppose that is no surprise. There are rumours of a fourth Austin Powers but so far I have heard nothing official, in a way I hope things stay that way. There is easily four and a half hours of entertainment to come from all the films, as well as replay value. Mothers, fathers, children and maybe even grandparents alike can enjoy these films although if you find Austin as repulsive as my Grandma finds Bart Simpson steer clear.