Most critics lean positive on Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, with praise centred on Mike Myers’s comic warmth, the sequel’s energy and its willingness to be juvenile. Several find it funnier than the original, while the retro style, Dr. Evil’s development and Mini-Me draw particular approval. The favourable reviews generally treat familiar catchphrases and uneven jokes as tolerable costs of an amiable comedy with enough laughs to carry it.
The reservations concern repetition, thin writing and characters who work less well than others: Heather Graham attracts differing levels of enthusiasm, while Fat Bastard draws a specific objection. Variety supplies the clearest dissent, finding the performances amusing but the recycled jokes and underdeveloped writing less inspired than before. The recorded scores span a broad range, though two incomplete review texts limit what can be said about the reasoning behind the mixed notices.