Former Saturday Night Live star Mike Myers as Austin Powers, International Man of Mystery. The Kobal Collection. Reproduced by permission.

The two Austin Powers films brought to the screen by Mike Myers (1963–) are spoof spy thrillers based on classics such as Our Man Flint (1965) and the James Bond (see entry under 1960s—Film and Theater in volume 4) film series. The two movies make clever mockery of 1960s music, speech, and fashion. Austin Powers, played by Myers, is the "shag-edelic" spy from 1960s swinging London. He drives an E-type Jaguar, complete with Union Jack paint job, and has a psychedelic jumbo jet. Based on the culture clash between the 1960s and the 1990s, the films' humor is sometimes subtle, sometimes adult, but always very, very silly.

The first Austin Powers movie premiered in 1997. Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery sees Powers awaken after thirty years of cryogenic...