Austin Powers - International Man of Mystery - The lighter side of Dr No

Looking back on it, it was amazing that no one thought of completely lampooning those old Sean Connery Bond films until 1997. They were pretty over-the-top, but I guess that's what we loved about them. And, I dare say that the writer/star of `Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery,' - Mike Myers - loves them as much as the rest of us. For he gives us a most loving take on the unspoken absurdities that we deliberately chose to overlook in the Bond films. He plays both hero and villain here as a swinging spy, frozen in the sixties and defrosted in the - rather more politically correct - nineties to do battle with the (Blofeld-like) Dr Evil.

Despite being an American production, it has a very British feel to it. Everything is made fun of, but you never feel like they're being particularly cruel - it's all quite `loving mockery' (if you know what I mean). It's not just a string of naughty jokes, but it also does go a little deeper in highlighting the change in attitudes from the `free love' of the sixties to the more reserved nineties.

There's nothing here that's particularly clever, just a stream of innuendos which seem like they've been taken straight out of the original Carry On films. But, if you're in the mood for some general silliness (and have a healthy knowledge of the old Bond films), you should enjoy the crazy ride and find you're spouting the several Powers/Evil catchphrases for some time to come.

8/10 The Force is definitely strong with this one