Photo Courtesy of New Line Cinema Mike Meyers plays Fat Bastard in "Goldmember" the latest installation in the "Austin Powers" series.

Mike Myers is a comedic genius. Anyone who disagrees with this should have his or her head examined. The man is consistently clever, fresh and entertaining, even when he is telling the same joke now three times in a row.

The first Austin Powers movie, "Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery," was terrific. It was like a pop-culture kick in the face, much like Myersâ other character-oriented farce "Wayneâs World." Then came the Powers sequel, "Austin Powers 2: The Spy Who Shagged Me," which seemed just as good. In it, Myers expanded on his characters and really pushed the envelope to see how far he could go with each one, even if many of the jokes were rehashed from the first Powers flick. Now comes the third installment, "Goldmember." People who are familiar with the first two should pretty much know what they are getting themselves into, except there are so many surprises in this picture that it feels like a whacked-out version of "The Sixth Sense."

In 2002, Austin is still Austin, doing his swinging routine and trying to capture Dr. Evil, who has returned from space and now has a new hideout in the Hollywood hills. (Donât worry, nothing will be given away here!) After Dr. Evil is jailed, Austin finds out that his long-lost father has been kidnapped by a Dutch, gold-loving madman by the name of Goldmember. Austin sets off to save his father (Michael Caine) and on the way meets a new sidekick by the name of Foxy Cleopatra (BeyoncŽ Knowles).

What follows is a slew of time travel, prison breaks, submarines, Mini Me, ghetto anthems, Dutch jokes, Fat Bastard, family reunions, flashbacks, slews of cameos and lots of staring at a large mole on Fred Savageâs face. The plot moves so fast and jumps around so quickly that you may find yourself asking how, what and why; then, sure enough, another gag sequence comes to make asking the question seem futile in the first place.

Many have seen the key characters ÷ most played by Myers ÷ before, and are familiar with their quirks and traits. What Myers does here, especially with Dr. Evil, is use the characters as a vehicle to lampoon anything and everything ÷ including the characters themselves. "Goldmember" feels more like a party with old friends than anything else. There is really not a lot more that can be said without giving away part of what makes seeing this film so great for fans of the Austin Powers franchise: All that can be is said is "Surprise, surprise." Do not listen if someone starts going on about what happens in the film, because it will spoil half the fun of witnessing it first-hand; cover your ears and run.

Overall, though, no one goes to see an Austin Powers movie for tips on how a plot unfolds. This movie is just sheer good time. It might seem a bit mish-mashed in places and not precisely thought out and executed as smoothly as the previous two, but it is still surely worth the price of admission for an hour and a half of needed belly laughs in troubled times.