Goldmember (2002) DVD Review – UK

Austin travels back to 1975 to rescue his father from the clutches of Dr. Evil and a certain gold-obsessed Dutchman.

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Austin travels back to 1975 to rescue his father from the clutches of Dr. Evil and a certain gold-obsessed Dutchman.

Runtime

1 Hour 35 Minutes

Region

Region 1

Sound

Dolby Digital 5.1

Aspect

2.35:1

Release year

2002

Details

Dr. Evil is finally caught and sentenced to 400 years in a maximum-security prison. Peace at last? Not quite. When Austin's father Nigel Powers is kidnapped from his luxury yacht - and the crew have their "meat and two veg" painted gold - Austin reluctantly seeks help from his old adversary.

Before agreeing to assist, Dr. Evil insists on being reunited with Mini-Me in a more comfortable low-security facility. Once that small matter is resolved, Austin discovers this isn't a question of where his father is. but when. Nigel has been taken back to 1975 by a gold-loving Dutchman known as Goldmember. Naturally, there's only one thing to do: dust off the time-travelling pimp mobile and head back to the disco era.

1975 allows the film to fully embrace its Bond-parody roots once again - outrageous outfits, unnecessary gadgets and yet another larger-than-life villain. Meanwhile, back in 2002, double-crossing is rife as Dr. Evil and Goldmember plot to hold the world to ransom with a solid gold meteorite aimed squarely at the North Pole. It's ridiculous, excessive and exactly what you'd expect from the third outing.

Picture & Sound

The picture quality is easily the best of the trilogy. Bright, colourful and packed with detail, it handles the outrageous 1970s palette with ease. Bit-rate fluctuations are noticeable but never problematic, and there's no visible artifacting or outlining. The increased production budget is evident - everything looks bigger, sharper and more polished.

Both Dolby Digital and DTS-ES tracks are included, though there's little to truly separate them. The film isn't exactly a surround workout, but dialogue is crisp and clean in the centre channel, and when the rears are used they're effective enough. DTS offers slightly better separation, as expected, but this isn't a night-and-day comparison.

Menu & Extras

This disc is presented as an Infinifilm experience, which suggests something groundbreaking. In reality, it's more confusing than revolutionary. The animated menus look fine, but leave them unattended for too long and everything simply stops - leaving you wondering if your player has frozen. The navigation remains cluttered and unintuitive.

That said, the quantity of extras is impressive and thankfully not just filler. There are multiple documentaries, featurettes, music videos (including a certain Britney contribution), deleted scenes and outtakes. The deleted scenes are genuinely funny and in some cases stronger than material left in the theatrical cut - which always raises the question of why seamless branching isn't more widely used.

The commentary by Jay Roach and Mike Myers is informative but not quite as hilarious as one might hope. Myers in particular sounds more restrained than expected, which is slightly disappointing. Roach's optional commentary on the deleted scenes is arguably more engaging. Personally, I found myself drifting back to the Infinifilm feature cuts instead - though I do wonder when Region 2 viewers will finally get this functionality.

Overall

The James Bond-style opening alone is worth the price of admission - especially if you go in knowing nothing about it. It's a genuine jaw-dropper. Add to that Michael Caine as Nigel Powers, clearly enjoying every moment, and you've got one of the strongest elements of the film. The on-screen chemistry between Caine and Myers is superb, and the outtakes confirm they had an absolute blast.

If you enjoyed the previous two Austin Powers films, there's very little here to put you off. It leans heavily into the established formula - more characters, more innuendo, more excess - and while it may not be the freshest of the trilogy, it's still packed with laughs.

Unless you're an easily offended Dutch person, there's a lot to enjoy here. From slapstick and visual gags to relentless double entendres, it delivers exactly what fans expect. Bigger, louder and shinier than its predecessors - and still very much your bag, baby.