The premise is a bit more complicated. Austin Powers captures Dr. Evil, who is sent to jail. However, Dr. Evil's newest and strangest partner, Goldmember, kidnaps Austins Father, Nigel Powers, and takes him back to the 70's. Austin travles back through time to rescue his father, and along the way he meets up with an old flame, Foxxy Cleopatra, who has a score to settle with Goldmember. Dr. Evil escapses jail and is free to help Goldmember with the plot to destroy the Earth. Austin is hurt by the fact his father never spent any time with him, and still doesn't give him any respect. Nigel shows an amazing lack of sensitivity, and blows off his son more than once. Austin trys hard to earn his father's respect, but realizes you can't spend your life trying to please your parents. Meanwhile, Dr. Evil's son, Scott, is becomming more evil everyday and soon becomes Dr. Evil's favorite, bumping out Dr. Evil's clone, Mini-Me. The power struggle is an interesting addition to the film.
The humor is spread throughout the movie, though the really good jokes are few and far between. What's in the middle is a story of how you shouldn't do things to please other people.
The characters are, as always, weird and delightful. Fat Bastard is back, this time in a sumo wrestler outfit as he takes on Japan. Mini-Me is as great as ever, and a new character, The Mole, a mole sent into Dr. Evil's lair who , ironically, has a large mole on his face, is played with grace and provides a few good laughs. The best new character, as far as I'm concerned, is Goldmember, a crazy Dutch genius bent on destroying the world. He lost his genitalia in an unfortunate smelting accident, and loved gold so much that he has a golden penis attached to him where his should be. He's odd, gross (Especially his habit of eating his peeling skin), and just delightful!
See the first three films before this one, but if you like silly comedy, don't miss it!
