Austin Powers in Goldmember

The opening cameo-driven, Mission: Impossible 2-spoofing, movie-within-a-movie title sequence of Austin Powers in Goldmember is the funniest five minutes to date in this spy comedy franchise: then Mike Myers shows up and ruins everything. Still trapped in a skit-comedy frame of mind, his short attention span has turned this third AP outing into little more than a string of brief, loosely-related set pieces that are often 98 percent setup and two percent punch line. This time, Blofeldian baddie Dr. Evil (Myers) teams up with a new and more obnoxious, disco-loving villain named Goldmember (Myers) to defeat mock-suave secret agent Powers (Myers). While the movie has a head-spinning lack of continuity as it reaches for endless self-referencing jokes, it does have two high points: Michael Caine is a perfectly cast hoot as Austin Powers' retired super-spy father, and 2-foot, 8-inch actor Verne Troyer once again steals scenes as Dr. Evil's 1/8-size clone Mini-Me. But the film's laughs are scattershot and wildly inconsistent, while the rudimentary pee-and-poo-level gags are both relentless and distinctly tired. Not a necessary purchase. [Note: DVD extras fall into three areas. "Beyond the Movie" features include four featurettes ("MI-6: International Men of Mystery," "English, English," "Disco Fever," and "Fashion v. Fiction," each ranging from two to four minutes) and a subtitle fact track. All-Access Pass features include commentary by director Jay Roach and star Mike Myers, 15 deleted scenes (including an outtake montage), three featurettes (on creative convergence, stunts and cars), four "Confluence of Characters" segments, a "Visual FX" segment with angle function, four music videos (including Beyonce Knowles' "Work it Out," "Boys" by Britney Spears, and "Hard Knock Life" by Dr. Evil and Mini-Me), an anatomy of three scenes, and trailers. DVD-ROM features include "Revoice Studio," which allows viewers to record their own voices on 12 selected scenes. Bottom line: a tres cool extras package for a smash box office--if not critical--hit.] (R. Blackwelder)