As movie franchises go, there are few as well-known as James Bond. The iconic 007 has been a big screen fixture since Sean Connery took up the role in 1962’s Dr. No. However, the contemporary James Bond has barely resembled the classic version of the super spy. Since the Daniel Craig starring Casino Royale rebooted the franchise in 2006, the once suave and almost campy Bond movies became far more gritty, realistic and serious. It’s a shift that completely changed the franchise—and it’s all because of one comedy that was released 29 years ago.
On May 2, 1997, Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery opened in theaters. Directed by Jay Roach and written by Mike Myers who also stars as the titular Powers, the film would end up being the first in the Austin Powers film series and serves as a parody of 1960s era popular culture and spy films—especially James Bond. The film follows a flamboyant, swinging secret agent, Austin Powers, a man known for his hedonism and charm who is cryogenically frozen in 1967 so that he can face his nemesis, Dr. Evil, when the villain is himself revived from deep freeze in the future. However, when Powers is defrosted in 1997, the world has changed by Powers has not but differences in culture and social norms isn’t going to stop the super spy. The film is pure camp and lowbrow humor, but its popularity as a biting parody of Bond movies has had a huge impact on the latter franchise—and it’s unclear if it will ever recover.
The Contemporary Bond Movies Shifted Hard Away From Camp and Fun They Lost All Charm
Image Courtesy of Sony
A key component to James Bond movies has always been their campy nature. In addition to being action-packed, the movies are simply fun. You have a handsome and smooth secret agent who, while definitely a womanizer, he’s just kind of sexy to watch. On top of that, the villains in the Bond franchise also tend to be over the top and almost caricatures with absurd motivations. It’s delightful and still feels like it has real stakes at the same time, making it a perfect bit of light entertainment. It also has long made the franchise the subject of parody and satire, but nothing as biting as Austin Powers.
Austin Powers took the spoof and dialed it up to 11. Where Bond is conventionally attractive, Powers is decidedly not. Where Bond is super capable, Powers is super bumbling, but somehow manages to luck his way into success, To put a finer point on it, Austin Powers takes everything that’s silly about James Bond and makes it downright stupid and it works. The Austin Powers movies are hilarious. But the films also pointed out many of the ways that the James Bond franchise hasn’t adapted to the times. With Austin Powers being an extreme version of Bond’s most extreme tropes, the movie served as a mirror reflecting how dated some characterizations had been come.
By the time Craig’s Bond debuted 9 years later, the franchise had made the move that, to update things and distance itself from the parody, it had to be harder, more serious, and it lost a lot of fun in the process. To be clear, Casino Royale is a great movie, but Quantum of Solace, Skyfall, Spectre, and No Time to Die all were increasingly gritty and Craig’s Bond more and more dour. Instead of seducing women while saving the world, this bond was haunted and full of trauma. It was a complete 180 and not only did fans notice it, but so did Craig himself, once even saying that Austin Powers had ruined Bond with its endless parodies of the franchise tropes.
A New Bond Has a Chance to Turn Things Around (But It Will Still Have to Deal With Austin Powers)
Craig exited the Bond franchise following No Time to Die in 2021 which means the iconic franchise will reset with a new actor taking on the role for a new film set to be directed by Denis Villeneuve. While we don’t yet know who is going to take on 007, what we do know is that the franchise will have a unique opportunity to fully reset and reintroduce updated approaches to Bond’s iconic elements—the camp, the suave behavior, all of it. It’s a huge opportunity. However, the shadow of Austin Powers will continue to loom large. For as lowbrow and silly as the Austin Powers movies are, they’ve become cultural landmarks all on their own, not unlike 007 himself. Figuring out how to navigate Austin Power’s cultural weight while reestablishing Bond as something that feels more authentic to the character’s history will be no small task. Hopefully, the future of Bond will find a way to embrace its past and laugh a little at the Austin Powers joke and get back on track as a franchise in the process.
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