Austin Powers: International Man Of Mystery (1997)
12-month trend
12-month trend
Monthly article views
2025-09 to 2026-08
A flamboyant 1960s spy is revived in the 1990s to stop a criminal mastermind's plan for global extortion.
The story
In 1967, flamboyant British spy Austin Powers and his nemesis Dr. Evil are both cryogenically frozen. In 1997, Dr. Evil is revived and begins a scheme for global extortion, while the British Ministry of Defence revives Austin to stop him. Austin must navigate the complexities of the 1990s while partnering with agent Vanessa Kensington. As they work together to thwart Dr. Evil's plans, Austin must adapt his outdated 1960s sensibilities to the modern world while attempting to stop a nuclear threat to the Earth's core.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In 1967, Austin Powers, a flamboyant British spy, and his nemesis Dr. Evil are both cryogenically frozen. In 1997, Dr. Evil is revived and, finding his plans already partially realized by chance, decides to hold the world hostage with nuclear weapons. The British Ministry of Defence revives Austin and pairs him with Vanessa Kensington, who is unimpressed by his outdated views. The pair travels to Las Vegas under the guise of a married couple, where Austin discovers Dr. Evil's 'Project Vulcan' to detonate a nuclear warhead in the Earth's core. After a series of encounters, including a battle against 'fembots'—androids with machine guns in their breasts—Austin and Vanessa infiltrate the Virtucon headquarters. They successfully disable Project Vulcan while Dr. Evil escapes in a rocket. The film concludes with Austin and Vanessa getting married and facing a final, minor confrontation with the henchman Random Task.
- First release year
- 1997
- Runtime (minutes)
- 95
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Jay Roach
- Writers
- Mike Myers · writer
- Cast and characters
- Mike Myers · Austin Powers and Dr. Evil; Elizabeth Hurley · Vanessa Kensington; Michael York · Basil Exposition; Mimi Rogers · Mrs. Kensington; Robert Wagner · Number Two; Seth Green · Scott Evil; Mindy Sterling · Frau Farbissina; Joe Son · Random Task
- Genres
- spy comedy; parody
- Themes
- modernity vs. tradition; freedom
- Tone and mood
- comedy; parody
- Premise and plot tags
- spy; time travel; comedy
- Franchise connections
- Austin Powers
- Content notes
- sexual humor
- Reception
- The film received generally positive reviews from critics and was noted for its humor and its portrayal of the 1960s.
- Production trivia
- The film was one of the first movies to be released in the DVD market.; The film was the best-selling video of 1998 in the United States.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
Your lists
Loading your lists…