Austin Powers in Goldmember

Mike Myers is like a rich 12-year-old who rents out F.A.O. Schwartz, upends every toy in under two hours, and brings in strippers. He can get away with this privileged romp because he grooves on what he does in a way that none of his contemporaries -- can comprehend.

Like a giant balloon painted with Day-Glo colors, however, the whole gaudy mess wouldn't inflate without the force of Mr. Myers's comic genius. It's his baby, baby. And after three editions, it's still flying high.

The most consistently funny of the ''Austin Powers'' films.

The latest installment in the Austin Powers series has stopped making much sense at all, but it sure gets its giggle on, and good.

A picture that, even more than the previous two, feels like a bunch of gags tossed together. The laughs are here, to be sure, although even some of the best of them are retreads and the Swinging '60s recycling act is now feeling a bit past its zeitgeist prime.

The laugh always comes first, and Myers' puppy-dog tenacity to that cast-iron tenet of low comedy, disarming and even somewhat charming in the first film, now has an air of careerist desperation about it.

Myers returns as his menagerie of repulsive characters, but this time, his frantic mugging feels more like an insipid parlor trick than ever.

Austin Powers Goldmember is one of the funniest f- - -ing movies of all time. And is the best James Bond parody to date.

This is the best Austin Powers yet. It grabs your attention because of not only the great performances, but also the random comedy. The ending may surprise you.

Mike Myers is literally everywhere in his third romp as the super suave (and super dated) gentleman spy, playing four significant parts under hefty amounts of makeup and gear. He's still surprisingly funny, as is the film itself, but the screen often feels terribly crowded and the constant diversions and subplots get carried away. Much more than the two preceding films, Goldmember is a Python-esque collage, a string of skits and strung-out gags with a loose connecting narrative wound in-between. It's joyfully energetic, like a toddler, with an attention span to match. The goofs and send-ups themselves range from hilarious to beaten-to-death (particularly the dumb obsession with one character's absurdly huge mole, which is trotted out in at least three different scenes) and occasionally lean on a weirdly hyper-focused topical humor that's showing its age now. Many of the old bits from preceding films are rolled back out for an encore, but they're matched at least shot-for-shot with new segments that, surprisingly, hold their own. It's particularly important that the jokes land, because the plot is mostly scraps and stabs. Michael Caine is an inspired choice as Austin's long-lost father, but the two don't get much screen time together and it feels like a wasted opportunity. Beyoncé's take on the classic blaxploitation-era heroine type is spirited, if light and inessential. Despite the shortcomings, it's still good for a few big laughs and my wife and I reference it somewhat regularly. I prefer it to The Spy Who Shagged Me, though it can't hope to match the heart, balance or ingenuity of the original.

What happens when the second film in your series outgrosses its predecessor in its opening weekend? Apparently, you run out of ideas and get a little money-hungry. "Austin Powers in Goldmember" has no problem recycling jokes from the previous films, but it's still a relatively entertaining film thanks largely to the many performances of Mike Myers. It's definitely a decent film, just don't set your expectations too high.

Well... there you have it, folks. The franchise has gone into a mixed situation. Don't destroy it with a rushed project otherwise the score will get worse. Take your time to make it and it'll be better.