More about this DVD  •  DVD Info  •  Movie Main Page  •  Message Board

Like every Austin Powers adventure before it, Goldmember is such a pastiche of plot twists, sight gags and borrowed parts that a plot synopsis is inconsequential. After an opening movie-within-a-movie parody featuring everyone from Britney Spears to Steven Spielberg to Tom Cruise, the film settles down into its main "story," a throwaway plot about Austin's long-lost dad (Michael Caine!) being kidnapped by Dr. Evil and the mysterious Goldmember. Along the way he sidesteps into the 70's and picks up Foxxy Cleopatra (Beyonce Knowles), hobnobs with over a dozen celebs making cameos, and, of course, saves the world from another nefarious criminal mastermind bent on mass destruction.

I may be one of the few, but I enjoyed Goldmember more than the second installment, The Spy Who Shagged Me. It's more frenetic and all over the place, but the scattershot approach actually ups the uncertainty of just what ridiculous idea Myers is going to come up with next. The joy of these Austin Powers flicks isn't so much that they parody the Bond series, but that Myers and the underrated Jay Roach (who deserves far more credit for keeping these things together than he's been given) skew all of pop culture by combining humongous setpieces with seemingly improvised, off the cuff humor. Not since Ghostbusters has a series combined such highly choreographed sequences with a brand of humor that seems like it was made up on the spot. Special effects and big production numbers don't usually go hand-in-hand with what passes for standup comedy routines, but here it works.

Yet for Austin Powers fans, the series' lack of focus is precisely its greatest strength (and if you hate these movies, this one certainly isn't going to change your mind). But for all the inspired zaniness, it is a shame the plots of these things couldn't be a little more coherent. Most of the supporting cast is underused - why aren't Caine and the winning Knowles given more to do? - and not all of Myers' creations tickle the funny bone. Along with Fat Bastard, the weakest character here is actually Goldmember himself, an odd creature that bends his own limbs in all directions and eats his own skin. Ick! Of course, with 20 Bond films to parody and no end in sight, Myers and Roach could probably come up with another dozen flicks and Powers fans wouldn't complain. I for one hope this "trilogy" is at last complete. Goldmember is a funny romp but scattershot at best, so let's hope Mr. Shagadelic quits while he's ahead.

Video: How Does The Disc Look?

Given that this is another feature-laden Infinifilm release crammed with extras, I was a bit afraid video quality might suffer from too much of a good thing. I needn't have worried. This is another superlative New Line transfer and just may be the best-looking Austin Powers flick yet. Despite all the extras, given the film's relatively short 95-minute runtime and fewer video-based supplements than there may appear to be, the bitrate of the main feature does not seem to have been compromised at all.

Presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen (a separate pan & scan version is also available, so make sure you check the box label carefully) the results are, shall we say, "smashing!" Austin's wonky set of choppers are displayed in their full grandeur, with every goofy grin often astounding in its clarity. Despite being shot using the Super35 process, grain is not a problem and the print is pristine. Next to the classic Technicolor musicals of yesteryear, these are the most vibrant hues you're going to find on a DVD. Colors are rock solid with no bleeding or noise, and fleshtones perfect. Blacks and contrast are excellent, resulting in a finely detailed image that is often quite three-dimensional. Shadow delineation is up there with the best film- based transfers, and there is no apparent edge enhancement nor haloing to distract.

If I can make any complaint, it is that there is a slight inconsistency in some shots in terms of softness (check out that first close-up of Spielberg, who suddenly looks a bit misty) and I noticed a couple of minor compression artifacts. But such are meager quibbles and likely caused by the source material more than anything else. Shagadelic, baby!

Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?

Yikes! When I first popped this one into my DVD player, I thought it was Charlie's Angels in Goldmember, not Austin Powers! Presented in both Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround EX and DTS 6.1 ES Discrete, this is one groove-a-licious soundtrack. Highly aggressive throughout, there is never a dull moment for that international man of mystery, Austin Powers. This is one of the best soundtracks I've heard to date on a DVD, and perhaps the best ever for a comedy, a genre that usually gets short shrift when it comes to exciting sonic presentations.

From the opening movie-within-a-movie title sequence to the bombastic underwater climax, this soundtrack is constantly engaging. Dynamic range is as good as it gets, with excellent use of music and effects for a highly-involving 360-degree soundfield. Imaging across all channels is near-transparent, with stellar localization of discrete effects in the rears, and clever integration of the score and the numerous songs that are sprinkled throughout the soundtrack. Specific instruments are often placed in the rear soundstage, which gives a cool wraparound effect to the musical numbers. There is some serious low bass pumped out on both the Dolby Digital and DTS tracks, so now is the time to upgrade to a better subwoofer if you haven't already.

I compared the Dolby and DTS tracks on three scenes: the opening title extravaganza, the introductory Foxxy Cleopatra musical number, and the big underwater climax. I detected only slight differences between the two tracks. The DTS has an overall more pronounced rear presence, boasting slightly fuller midrange and more transparent imaging. Unlike many DTS versus Dolby comparisons, however, I didn't notice much difference in the heft of the bass, with both delivering some pretty kick-ass low end. Whichever way you go, both mixes are expertly rendered (especially if you have EX and/or ES decoding) and this is a great demo DVD to impress your friends.

Also included is an alternate English 2.0 Dolby surround track, plus English Closed Captions. Unlike most New Line titles, however, there are no English subtitles provided, nor are they listed on the "Sound and Set Up" submenu.

Supplements: What Goodies Are There?

Just like the first two Austin Powers adventures on DVD, New Line has once again sported for a big batch of extras, only this time Goldmember gets the Infinifilm treatment. If you are unfamiliar with the Infinifilm concept, it is an optional interface that plays over the entire feature, allowing you to "branch off" to various related video- and text-based segments throughout the film. Thankfully, you can also access all the Infinifilm special features (except for the subtitle "Fact Track") via traditional menus, as well as any of the disc's audio tracks, including the commentary. And like all New Line DVDs, all the extras are presented in anamorphic widescreen and feature English Closed Captioning (except the audio commentary). Most of the video-based featurettes also include chapter stops, although they are not actually listed on the submenus.

Like all Infinifilm titles, the extras here are broken down into two groups, "Beyond the Movie" and "All Access Pass" features. Let's start with the Beyond the Movie vignettes, which total only a little over ten minutes and just may be the slimmest yet on an Infinifilm release: "MI-6: International Men of Mystery" (4:23), "English, English" (2:25), "Disco Fever" (4:21) and "Fashion Vs. Fiction" (1:57). These offer a bit of insight into some of the real-world inspirations for the film's plot, dialogue, setting and costumes, although I would debate just how "Beyond the Movie" these really take us. In addition to Myers, Roach and Caine, we are treated to new interviews with various key personnel, including music supervisors Danny Bramson and John Houlihan, costume designer Deena Appel, production designer Rusty Smith and author Ernest Volkman. These are perfectly entertaining little featurettes, just quite slight, and to be honest I'm not sure why Infinifilm titles have to have "Beyond the Movie" extras at all; can't the "All Access Pass" supplements (see below) be more than enough?

Undoubtedly the best of the "Beyond the Movie" extras is the Fact Track, encoded as a subtitle stream and only accessible with the Infinifilm interface turned on. While the information included is fun as always - from notes on the cast and numerous guest stars to all the various Bond references and send-ups - for a flick as colorful as Goldmember, I hoped for more visually exciting pop-ups. Instead of eye-popping thought bubbles or something similar, the text is presented in a rather dry style. To be fair, it does hold your interest in between all those Infinifilm prompts, and also makes a great combination with the audio commentary.

Let's move on to the All Access Pass features, which are much better. Up first is the screen-specific audio commentary with director Jay Roach and Mike Myers. As one would expect, the operative word here is "fun." Roach is a very thoughtful, kind soul, and it is a credit to Myers that he doesn't dominate the track or get too outrageous or obnoxious. Rather quiet and soft-spoken considering how hyper he appears onscreen, Myers has plenty of off-the-cuff jokes to tell and it's all smiles and congratulations to fellow cast and crew. To be honest, this isn't a particularly informative track in terms of actual production detail or how they actually made the movie, but Roach and Myers are witty enough that it's not a bad way to spend 95 minutes. Worth a listen if you're really into the series; all others can probably skip it.

Perhaps the best extras on the entire disc are the nearly 25 minutes of Deleted Scenes included: "Tops and Bottoms" (0:35), "Post Knighting" (0:31), "Book Covers" (0:34), "New Man of the Lair" (1:46), "More from the Belly of the Beast" (2:21), "Idiot Convention" (2:52), "Nigel on Goldmember" (0:38), "More Fooks" (2;15), "Hello Mahza, Hello Fahza" (0:58), "More Fat Bastard" (1:07), "More Fahza " (0:59), "Dr. Evil Has the Con" (0:42), "Musical Number" (2:45), "Bad Reaction to the Sharks" (0:32) and "Outtake Montage" (3:57). While some of the shorter segments are merely scene extensions featuring jokes that don't quite work, there are a couple of truly funny and inspired sequences, especially the "Idiot Convention" and the charming "Musical Number" montage featuring the entire cast breaking out into song ( a parody of that Aimee Mann interlude in Magnolia, perhaps?). The outtake reel also shows a bit of end credit gags that didn't make the cut, but they're still funny anyway. All these scenes feature optional commentary with Roach and Myers. And to New Line's credit, each is presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen and look just as great as the main feature.

Up next is The World of Austin Powers, which is essentially a 30-minute documentary cut up into little parts. Overall more informative than the "Beyond the Movie" vignettes, alas there is no "Play All" function, and such endless button clicking continues to be my one major annoyance with DVD extras these days. Anyway, the "Jay Roach & Mike Myers: Creating Convergence" (6:20) and "Confluence of Characters" -"Goldmember" [4:03], "Foxxy Cleopatra" [4;21], "Nigel Powers" [2:10] and "Masters Powers and Evil" [5:03]) all work well watched as a whole. Roach and Myers offer a quick bit on how the improvised sequences and gargantuan sets come together, and how taxing Myers can be (in a good way, of course) on the rest of the cast and crew. The character segments then offer more insight on the new characters and how each cast member fleshed out the part. "Opening Stunts" (2:16) and "The Cars of Austin Powers" (2:21) are just that, a tour of the film's lighthearted stunt gags and awesome automobiles with stunt coordinator Jack Gill and car guru Josh Hancock. Rounding it out is "Anatomy of Three Scenes" ("Dancing at the Gates" [4:54], "Roller Disco" [2:18] and "Sumo Battle" [4:02]), which gives us a glimpse at rehearsals and preparation for three of the film's big dance and action numbers.

For some reason, the last featurette Visual Effects gets its own menu option, and is a multi-plate breakdown of a visual effects gag from the film, a miniature car zooming into Dr. Evil's gigantic submarine lair. Visual effects supervisor Dave Johnson delivers the introduction, and the entire segment runs just under 5 minutes. Rounding it all out are no less than four music videos: "Work it Out" by Beyonce, "Boys" by Britney Spears, "Daddy Wasn't There" by Ming Tea (featuring Mike Myers) and "Hard Knock Life" by Dr. Evil and Mini-Me. Last but not least are the film's four theatrical teasers and the full length trailer, all in anamorphic widescreen. Oh, and would you be surprised to find a couple of easter eggs on the disc, too? Didn't think, so start searching!

DVD-ROM Exclusives: What do you get when you pop the disc in your PC?

In the tradition of past New Line Infinifilm releases, this one comes loaded with ROM extras, too. Pop the disc in your drive and a cool Goldmember interface pops up with a number of options. Four separate weblinks are included to to AustinPowers.com, Minime.com, the New Line Hot Spot video portal, and most exciting of all, exclusive content only for DVD owners at Infinifilm.com. The Goldmember-specific extras are set to launch on the street date (December 3rd), so watch this space for more to come.

Those not web-connected, however, still can have a lot of fun with the Austin Powers Revoice Studio. Requiring the installation of Microsoft DirectX (v8.1) plus an external or built-in microphone, turn your PC into an Austin Powers recording device. Select from ten different scenes - including "Scotty Don't Like Chocolate," "Preparation H," "Foxxy Goes Undercover" and the very difficult "Speak English English" - and record your own voice over different characters. You can save up to 8 different "Takes" and a handy script box scrolls lines from the scenes so no real memorization is required. Both text instructions and a tutorial are included, and the navigation controls are easy to use. Pretty shagadelic!

Rounding out the ROM extras are some downloadables, including desktop icons and patterns and custom screensavers.

Parting Thoughts