Dogma (Special Edition)

1 Best Movie EVER
People always told me I'd like this movie. As an extremely cynical person, they said it would totally work it's way into my mind. But, being so cynical, I doubted that. My main draw was that Alanis Morissette, of whom I'm a huge fan (it's not even funny) plays the Almighty. But I never really took the time to find this movie. So, it found me.

One day as I was looking for something to watch on TV. And sure enough, Dogma was on. I was about a half hour late, but I decided to just watch it. When it was over, I was stunned. I fell in love with the movie right then and there. It was on later that day and I watched it again. I was even more enthralled the second time around. I resolved that I HAD to get this movie. I'll tell you why.

Dogma takes a very interesting look at the world of religion. It gets very sarcastic and critical at times, which drew the ire of many groups over whether or not the movie was appropriate. Obviously they never took the time to see it, because instead of making religion out as evil, the film does everything it can to show the viewer how good religion truly is. Unlike other movies that are like this for the sake of just being controversial and provocative to get attention, this raises many good points about the church and about society in general. Some might call this film blasphemous. I call it genius. An instant classic. I admire the people who came together to make such an amazing thing. The chemistry is perfect, EVERYONE has impeccable acting, and the story is just plain excellent. The writing is first-rate. Even better in fact. I don't want to give away anything, so I'll leave it to you to see it for yourself. I hope you're as wowed as I am. I just bought it today, 3 weeks after first seeing it. I just finished watching it and it seems to get even better with repeated viewing. So even if you hate it at first, you'll learn to love it. I loved it from the get-go.

2 Dogma
I love how it took story lines from the Bible and made an original plot and comedy with them. It unearthed common questions. Why can't God be a women? What happens when you cut off an angel's wings? Add alcohol and a sense of irony to an angel and what are you going to get? If there were really muses what productions of this day and age would they be responsible for? Everyone played their roles very well and it made for a really amusing movie.

3 "Does that mean the last Zion is part black?"
THis movie is really funny, especially for religious people. Sure, it makes fun of the Catholic Church, and it even suggsts cnspiracy in the church. Alot of it doesn't make any sense, like God is trapped in a body? He's GOD. He can do whatever He wants! Don't get me wrong I did like it! A little out there, but still very funny. Again remember it wasn't suppose to match up with the Bible. Like God is not a woman, God is genderless, and Jesus wasn't black, He was Jewish etc. But you what? It's a Jay and Silent Bob movie, OK? Don't overanalyze it. Good for those ont sensative to the issure of religion.

4 "Trifle of a movie" disclaimer is even misleading
Even the people who defend Kevin Smith constantly complain about what a horrible director he is. "He can't frame a shot to save his life" and so forth. Like I've always said, you'd think someone who spent his life reading comic books would have a better visual style.

But I can't really see what else Smith does to deserve such a fervent following. Is it 15-year-old stoners cheering the trashing of the Catholic church? This is the type of movie that a video game juvenile junky can watch and think they're experiencing a deep and weighty comedy. Instead, it's just smug and condescending. And not as funny as it thinks it is.

Jay and Silent Bob have overstayed their welcome longer than Anna Nicole Smith. They're not exactly Abbott & Costello. They're not even Pauly Shore & that one Baldwin brother from BIO-DOME.

I can't even get through DOGMA without switching it off: I can only take so much mugging.

5 Strangely uplifting -- still
"Dogma" is a movie that ought to offend my religious sensibilities, but, oddly, I find it to be a most religious movie. Long on deep theological questions and religious craving, but woefully short on theological sophistication or even basic knowledge, writer/director Kevin Smith has created a smart, hip movie that is emblematic of all that is right and wrong with religion today -- especially Smith's own Roman Catholicism.

Smith has to be commended on the all-star cast he assembled for this flick: Damon, Affleck, Fiorentino, Garafalo, Carlin, Rock, Hayek and Rickman. Each delivers an impassioned and believable performance in his most bizarre of plot lines. The plot? Two renegade angels, banished for millennia from Heaven, have found a loophole back into Paradise. Problem is, if they exercise it, they will have contradicted the infallibility of God, bringing existence itself to an end. God, meanwhile, on one of his monthly skeeballing forays as a human, has been waylaid by a triplet of hockey-stick wielding, hellish thugs, and lies comatose in a New Jersey hospital. Saving the universe is in the hands of an unlikely bunch: an abortion clinic worker, the "13th Apostle," a pair of sex-obsessed, slacker "prophets," a stripper muse and a cynical, angelic mouthpiece of God.

While juvenile in places (the climactic fight sequences seems to have been choreographed by 5th graders) the film is full of the holy longing that many in our time feel is missing from religion. Missing? Not really. Misplaced? Definitely. Disappointed with the spirituality of the Roman Catholic Church, director Smith has gone off into the desert of contemporary society to find the building blocks of a faith he can believe in. That his theology and ecclesiology are way off the road (Christ is not a separate person from God; shooting off angels' wings won't make them human; the pope would never sanction replacing the crucifix) is hardly the point. A longing for authentic religious experience and a desire for communication with a benevolent deity *are.*

For those who see "Dogma" as a mature expression of the state of Christianity today, I say, "Please, take another look." For those on the inside, let "Dogma" be a window into the half-baked beliefs and longings of those who don't come to Church on Sunday. For all, I say, listen long and hard to Alanis Morissette's exquisite and soul-stirring "Still" that plays over the credits at the end. Wow!

6 Funny but unfulfilling
While sporting excellent comic acting and a clever story, Dogma is unfulfilling as a movie that is supposed to carry a message.

Fellow reviewers have remarked that Dogma explores both serious theological issues and complex social issues facing the Church and organized religion today. A comic film with this aim has much potential.

In order to have a coherent message, however, such a film must have some elements of truth in what it is commenting on. The way in which Dogma explores issues demonstrates a weak understanding of actual theology or social issues. Apparently clever references to transubstantiation and indulgences actually have little basis in what those doctrines actually teach (or even in the ways in which people commonly tend to misinterpret them). Even questions of God's sex and Jesus' race both misrepresent what the Church actually teaches and fail to cover any new ground. The Church actually affirms that God has no gender (admittedly, inclusive language during the liturgy would be nice), and there's been little doubt about Jesus' race. The images in our mind of him as Anglo-Saxon is the product of our art, and how this portrayal effects our conception of Jesus is something worth reflecting about.

But Dogma fumbles this opportunity. There are indeed serious issues facing the Church and organized religion, and we definitely need to discuss (and poke fun at) these issues more, but Dogma's misrepresentation comes off more as a disorganized and uninformed rant against organized religion than a serious satire, which is how it seemed to be marketed.

That being said, this film is fun to watch for entertainment value. Alan Rickman is indeed hilarious. The movie has good quotable lines and memorable comic moments.

When you watch Dogma, don't expect an informed comic exploration on theological or social issues. Instead, watch it for laughter value.

7 I just love this movie
I know a lot of people hated this movie, but I'm not one of them. It was great. Just a nonsense movie. Great if you just want to sit down and laugh. People took it too seriously. I recommend it and all the rest of the kevin smith movies (except jersey girl).

8 I Walked Out of the Theater and I'm Protestant
I'm not Catholic and perhaps I didn't "get it"; I wasn't offended by the excrement, etc. but the continuing sophmoric plot apparently intended to offend wore me down. What a waste of talent (except, well, Affleck, stick to WRITING; you are SO wooden in your acting). I hope all of those who were raised Catholic that were in the audience or in the movie FEEL better and their church-induced inhibitions have been wiped away after seeing or being in this flick. The review of Shashank Tripathi (an Irish contemporary of mine) says it all well too. It's only the second movie I ever walked out of (Drew Barrymore couldn't carry "Home Fries" all by herself; more wooden acting, not immature plotting, in that case). They're lucky I didn't firebomb the theater on this one. It was like the Worst of Saturday Night Live. Grow up, Kevin. You pseudo-intellectuals givng this dreck 4 and 5 stars too.

9 Interesting take...
Dogma is probably what one would get if they drank too much communion wine. In other words, a really interesting view of religion. Unique enough that some would say this makes religion look bad, but I think that the satirical nature of the film reveals more about ourselves then one might think at first glance, especially if they brushed it off for rubbish.

The plot is about how Catholic dogma has caused a loophole in the system, thus allowing two fallen angels to possibly get back to heaven. However, the side of good has their own hero found in an abortion clinic worker, who blames God for her own personal failings at a successful marriage. In addition, with the sometimes obnoxious Jay and Silent Bob (whose mostly just silent,) and comedian Chris Rock this movie definitely has it's humor.

This movie is crude on language, but the message is enjoyable and rather original. Kevin Smith has an interesting way of making seriousness go funny and then back to seriousness, and he has done it once again. This movie may not be for everyone, but give it a shot, for it is rather enjoyable.

10 Shocking for some, but remember: It's just a movie.
My only arguement about this movie was that it wasn't as contraversal as I had hoped. It was really good though- and was made to be exactly what it was: a comedy with a point. Just because the target here is Catholasicm doesn't mean that they're against the religion, it's just that it was the only one that would allow the plot to actually WORK. Jay and Silent Bob are very amusing as the comedy relief characters and in the end we learn a lesson: Be who we really are- and it's okay to kill angels- sometimes.
The only real FLAW in the movie is the way that Bartalbe and Loki's personalities COMPLETELY flip flop in the end. First Loki wants to kill people and Bartalbe's like "Calm down" then Bartalbe is all "I will slaughter all humanity and drink their blood the merciless sinners" and Loki is all "Why would we want to kill people?" Alanis Morset as God was also an interesting addition to the cast, but whatever. THis movie is enjoyable for some, and if you already know that you're not going to like the movie because you have strong beliefs: PLEASE just don't watch it and save yourself the frustration you'll cause yourself and others.

Heh heh... Alan Rickman as Medataron.... great!

11 THIS IS AN UGLY AND STUPID ANTI-CATHOLIC MOVIE
You aren't bored with the liberal low-lewel propaganda ? Then spit 30 $ and make Ben Affleck happy and rich. Is "The Passion of the Christ" a violent movie ? Compared with this idiotic bloodbath it is nothing. Heads blown by God , fallen angels killing archbishop and slaughtering catholics, is this funny ? If you really want to see funny ,inteligent and vulgar film get yourself "South Park".

Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and other partners in crime,I wish you well
because I know you'll burn in Hell !!!
AMEN !!!

12 Kevin Smith is the greatest
Dogma is about 2 angels that are band from heaven. They find a way to get back to heaven but if they do get back they will end existence so 2 prophets (Jay and Silent Bob a.k.a. Kevin Smith) have to stop the angels before they reach the destination. This is one of the greatest movies Kevin Smith ever made actually all his movie's were great.All his movies are sure to make the most serious on their knees laughing.

13 Not Kevin Smith's best, but very close.
Chasing Amy will probably remain my favorite Kevin Smith film, but Dogma should always have a close second. After turning the Mallrats fiasco around with Chasing Amy, Smith decided to embark on his life's work, the one film that he'd been saving for just the amount of exposure it would get: Dogma. Though not a Miramax production or even from Universal (thank God), Lion's Gate decided to option his masterpiece and Columbia released it on DVD. Go figure.

Anyway, Dogma is about several characters in a looped story structure. Ben and Matt are two fallen angels trying to get back into heaven by entering a sacred, but before they do they go off and brutally kill people for fun. Bethany Sloane is a direct descendant from Jesus Christ (which still makes no sense to me since Jesus was an only child and never married, but don't think too hard about it) who has to stop them from entering or they'll destroy all of God's creation. Along the way, she has some help. Alan Rickman is Metatron and the sardonically witty English bastard he always is, Jay and Silent Bob are prophets who want nothing more than to bone Bethany at any cost, Chris Rock is the 13th Apostle and offers the angry black man's view of things, and Salma Hayek is a stripper who turns out to be Serendipity (???) However, the always loveable Jason Lee is a demon sent to make sure that B&M make it to the church and thus rein havoc on heaven. Anyway, it's a fractured fairy-tale and a clever one at that.

Some key moments: The first thing that stuck in my head after I first saw the movie was the scene in the Moovie corporate office. I won't give anything away, but it just completely disturbed me as how all this sin is revealed and then punished so brutally, then dismissed as nothing. Who knew that Matt Damon could be so evil? Especially as an angel?
There's the final realization from Bethany where she doesn't want any of this responsibility, which does play off of the original Terminator some, but Rickman carries the scene with an almost poetic pose.

The reason why this film works is for its initial farce on religion, then a showing of a more reasonable way to embrace it. Sure it's a comedy, and a foul-mouthed Kevin Smith comedy at that, but it delivers a way to question your own faith (whatever it may be) and to decide for yourself of whether you follow beliefs, or ideas. A high recommendation for and movie collector.

14 veiw askew rules
dogma is an awsome movie as well as the rest of the view askew productions and anyone who thinks diferently is a prude or has little to no sense of humor. kevin smith is an execelent actor/writer/director/producer any one who thinks diferently is a moron. i would pay to be in one of his films even as an extra, just to have worked with him and tell him to never stop with his films they are all awsome from clerks to jersey girl i enjoyed them all very much.
with admiration,
adam hawk

15 Oh,Please
Why does this movie suck this bad!this movie is dull and has no storyline.FACE THE FACTS.

16 Smith Gets To Tackle Religion And Keeps A Tight Knit Plot
By the time this movie came out, most people had at least heard of Kevin Smith. He was rattling the independent circuit and he had some decent credentials under his belt (a very successful indy film and a bomb of a high budget film) and he was finally given the chance to create a big budget film of one of his first scripts. That script was a story of how two banned angels from the bible tried to get back into heaven and all the chaos that ensued. Although it was HIGHLY controversial, I believe Smith creates a pretty good story without attacking any one religion and keeping the holes in his plot to a minimum.

Loki and Bartleby are two angels that have been banned from heaven by God and stuck in the second worse place in America, Milwaukee, WI. Fortunately for them, Cardinal Glick as part of a "Catholicism Wow!" campeign in McHenry, IL, has decided to make a few changes in the church. Along with his "buddy Christ" he's offered to forgive anyone for their sins and assure safe passage into heaven if they are blessed under the church's arch. As the two angels make their way to IL, people on both sides of the yin-yang (good and evil) are frantically trying to stop them to prevent the world from ending (which is what happens when you defy God's decree). Who will win? Will God be able to defend his decree? Will the Devil stop the angels? Or will they pass through the arch and destroy all of history?

The plot is hard to explain, but Smith unravels it in quite a simple and definitely smooth style that it's quite simple for audiences of all ages to comprehend. The acting is top notch, but Smith borrowed from some of Hollywood's most popular to help him with that. Affleck and Damon give a great duo performance as the heretic angels trying to demolish all of humanity. Alan Rickman gives a great performance, especially when he gets to couple up with Chris Rock. Other noteable names are Linda Fiorrentino playing the lead, George Carlin as Cardinal Glick, Selma Hyak as the muse, and Jason Lee as Azrael. I am not a religious person, but my mother sure is and I challanged her to watch this film with me and find religious contradictions. Surprisingly not only could she not find any notable ones, she also found the movie to be quite entertaining (although she HATED the crude humor)!

The version of the DVD that I have really doesn't have much to offer in the ways of special features, I have the traditional copy that came out first. It does give you the clean widescreen version with 5.1 surround sound, but I would tell anyone who buys this film to get the Special Edition which I'm told is LOADED with special features. Definitely a great four film for Smith.

17 A HILLARIOUS FILM ABOUT RELIGION
A CATHOLIC WHO SEEMS TO QUESTIONS HER FAITH [LINDA FIORENTINO] MUST STOP TWO ANGELS [BEN AFFLECK AND MATT DAMON] WHO SEEM HELL BENT ON WREAKING HAVOC ON THE EARTH AND IT'S PEOPLE. VERY FUNNY AND KEVIN SMITH EVEN INJECTS THE HILLARIOUS AND PROFANE JAY AND SILENT BOB CHARACTERS [LIKE HE DOES IN JUST ABOUT EVERY MOVIE WITH HIS NAME ON IT] INTO THIS MOVIE. CHRIS ROCK IS ALSO FUNNY AS THE 13TH APOSTLE. IF YOU WANNA LAUGH AT RELIGION, THIS IS THE MOVIE FOR YOU.

18 Something Different
Is this the best quality film I have ever seen? No, it is not. However, it is a creative look at a serious topic and I think it is worth seeing. And the movie doesn't take itself too seriously. The first time I saw the movie I was intrigued and it has continued to grow on me. The quality of the cast makes some of the cornier lines work a little better. I would recommend this movie.

19 Dogma (Special Edition)
Dogma is a real interesting movie.It isa satire and unique which is why I like it.I really enjoy films that are different and aren't so predictable like alot of films these days.The plot is really cool and isn't in your face like alot of satire comedies these days with the exception of Saved!The cast is star studded.Damon is the star of the film and does an awesome job with what he has to work with.Ben Affleck is okay ; don't get me wrong he does a great job.He's kind of like pizza; I know it sounds stupid, but you can only have so much pizza before you get sick of it and after to much Affleck I get sick of him.Linda Fiorentino does a good job I've never seen her in anything else but she did good.The dialogue is also really funny tongue in cheek at alot of moments or just witty.It doesn't really have a great soundtrack or score even though it could of had alot of cool music for the film.Jay and Silent Bob are really funny and the film would not be the same with out them.The film asks alot of questions and isn't just all about the laughs.If your a Catholic then you'll really get a kick out of some of the some of the jokes more so than if you were another religion.Kevin Smith does a smart( and deep at times) film that with leave you feeling good like it was a treat.Make sure to check out this really fun film that should get more credit for it's ideas.

Imaginative theology and a bigger than usual budget make Kevin Smith's fourth film a kind of post-Catholic fantasy that only a comic-book enthusiast of his caliber could dream up. The plot is set in motion by two banished angels, Loki (Matt Damon) and Bartleby (Ben Affleck). After a few millenia in Wisconsin, they've discovered a loophole in Catholic doctrine that would allow them back into heaven--but prove the fallibility of God and destroy the universe. Unaware of the peril, they make their way to New Jersey to receive a plenary indulgence. Meanwhile, God has dispatched a seraphim (Alan Rickman) to recruit lapsed-Catholic Bethany (Linda Fiorentino) to stop the angels. She finds help in muses, prophets (Jay and Silent Bob), and the forgotten 13th apostle, Rufus (Chris Rock). Before long, all hell breaks loose (literally), and God (Alanis Morrisette) has to put in an appearance of her own. The success of the film is in the juxtaposition of Smith's trademark acerbic attitude and witty dialogue against the enormous canvas of Christian iconography and apocalyptic conflict.

"The movie manages to ask relevant spiritual questions."
-- Mark de la Vi�a, SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS

20 Place this high in the lists of your favorite comedy movies
I do not recall seeing `Dogma' on any lists of top ten cult movies, usually dominated by `The Rocky Horror Picture Show' and Ed Wood works, but it should be there, cheek and jowl Tim Curry and his musical transvestite crowd. One sure sign of cult greatness is my initial reaction to this movie, which was `Where in the world did this thing come from!!!!'. At the time, I was totally unaware of Kevin Smith's other movies, so I had no inkling of his type of humor or his stock company of Ben Affleck, Jason Lee, Jason Mewes, Smith himself as silent Bob, and, occasionally, Matt Damon. I was also totally unaware of his very positive working relationship with Harvy Weinstein of Mirimax pictures which provided the resources for casting such A list cast members such as `Hans Gruber' himself, Alan Rickman and talents such as Salma Hayek, Chris Rock, and Linda Fiorentino, not to mention the very quirky Alanis Morissette and George Carlin. What an incredible cast for an independent movie from an at the time relatively unknown director whose main claim to Hollywood fame is that he got Mirimax together with Damon and Affleck as executive producer, with View Askew producer Scott Mosier, of the critically very successful `Good Will Hunting'.

Getting back to initial gut reactions, my first impression was very similar to seeing `Monty Python and the Holy Grail' for the first time. It is simply so different, yet so funny, that your sense of the talent required to put the movie together is palpable. How did they even think of these things. There are many silly and superficial potty jokes and doper jokes and running gags, but below all that is this very deep concept of what could go wrong if there were some logical flaw in divine thinking, and someone in a position to take advantage of it. This is the point of the title, `Dogma', in that the driving force of the story is a loophole in church dogma which will permit two banished rogue angels, Loki and Bartleby, to reenter heaven contrary to the wishes of God. And, God can't do anything to prevent it. Icing on the cake is an evil spirit Azrael, who cleverly puts God out of the picture temporarily and leaves the handling of the situation to God's right hand angel, played by Alan Rickman.

If all this wasn't enough, enter our heros, Jay and Silent Bob, fresh from minor roles in `Mall Rats' and `Chasing Amy' who are their usual doper selves, thrust into the role of assisting the scion of Christ in thwarting the banished angels, Loki and Bartleby (Damon and Affleck) in their plan.

A mere synopsis of the plot as I have given above doesn't even come close to capturing all the nuttiness of the business and the depth of the story. I would love to know what inspiration Smith had for naming Loki and Bartleby, but I like to believe it was no accident that he named a Christian angel after a Norse god with a very nasty reputation for mischief.

The entire cast gives their best to the movie, although I do get a sense that Affleck and Damon are not breaking much of a sweat and running purely on star power, although it is worth noting that at the time of the movie, Rickman probably had the most substantial reputation, as I believe `Good Will Hunting' had not yet been released.

The cinematography, editing, and other technical stuff is adequate, but nowhere near Oscar level quality. The name of the game in this movie is plot, plot, plot. Like all the best comedies, going back at least as far as Shakespeare, in spite of all the fun, there is a clear threat unless our heros can complete a task and, in this case, the threat is the end of the world. No small potatoes.

The extras on the DVD are a must for all Kevin Smith fans. The voice over commentary to the flick is pretty good and gives a bit more than average `how we did this shot' stuff, including some on set difficulties with some actors and much appreciation for the professionalism of others. It was particularly touching to hear of Jason Mewes being so impressed by the appearance of the very professional Alan Rickman that Mewes learned all his lines before shooting started. It is also surprising to see how little of the business was ad libbed. Almost all of this stuff is in Smith's script. The other extras are mostly candy for Kevin Smith junkies.

My queries at the local video store show that this movie has sustained a substantial popularity after a modest release which just managed to recoup its cost. I wish Smith continued success with movies of this ilk, and hope he finds it in his heart to bring back Jay and Silent Bob after his flirt with the main stream style in `Jersey Girl'.

Highly recommended for anyone who has or enjoys a quirky sense of humor. And before I forget, Salma Hayek and Chris Rock are a blast in this movie which even merited a sequel shared with `Chasing Amy', in `Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back'.

21 Who's your buddy?
I'll admit it; I have never seen any other Kevin Smith movie aside from Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. And even in that movie his lack of class and tendency for cheap vulgarity kind of turns me off him.

Despite some moments of (often childish) humor (any bit with Jay and Silent Bob and the cool 'new' Jesus image), Dogma mostly fails on every one of its intentions. Rather than the 'epic' most people are calling this film I consider it to be way overlong and overbearingly self-indulgent.

It seems that Kevin Smith has a savage and acidicly cynical view of the Catholic Church and rather than making a movie that unravels any hypocrisies or sheds light on double standards he's made a sprawling shambles that too often goes off in lumbering tangents (one of Smith's constant failings).

There's nothing unsubtle or smooth about Dogma. No class or dignity. The dialogue may be considered as biting satire to the casual viewer, but it's actually increasingly tiresome and nothing more than exposition. I kid you not; over 90% of the dialogue in this film is expositional and bores to tears. There's nothing worse than Chris Rock, Linda Fiorentino and Selma Hayek rambling on and on and on with nothing happening and still they go on and on and on and on and on...

I cannot believe that there are 100 minutes of deleted scenes from this movie. How on earth the full cut of this movie was tolerated by even the editors is a mystery to me. Proof positive that Kevin Smith has no control over his 'creative' tantrum.

There is also the bonus of having the WORST musical score in history (and that includes Harry Manfredini's jarring noises in Jason Goes To Hell). What a horrible, headache-inducing drone it was!

The DVD is in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen with Dolby 5.1 sound, so now you can enjoy that awful score in its full glory on your home theatre. A plethora of extras are, for some reason, included on this DVD. Which is only further proof that the film thinks it's far better than it actually is. There are 'real' good movies that don't get this many extra features on DVD and I assure you I have no intention of knowing more of this film.

22 BOLDLY CYNICAL (AND OCCASIONALLY FUNNY) LOCKER-ROOM PRATTLE
As a sweet bite of blaspemy this Kevin Smith stinker may do fine, supported by a star-studded cast and a crunchily inventive premise to sink our collective teeth into the heart of Catholicism.

But it is amusing to see a horde of reviewers call this clever and thoughtful. Sorry folks, the film's troop of eccentric characters do very little to bail it out of its convoluted ramble about theology.

When it comes to intellectual muck-raking, the film with its doozy "loophole" simply drowns under the weight of diminishing returns. Religion is not an intellectual exercise, it's role is to fulfill spiritual, psychological and emotional needs in our lives. A person needs his world to make some sense to them, and religion can comfort with answers that science can not yet provide.

If on the other hand you're game for some tongue-in-cheek degenerative humor (for example, giant monsters of bubbling human excrement) sure, this may be right up your alley. Just make sure you have plenty of time as the circus goes on for a while.

23 dogma is cosmic law.
two angels,who were kicked out of heaven long ago,find a loop-hole so they may return.they need to go to new jersey.jay and silent bob go with the last zion,the 13th apostle rufis-left out of the bible because hes black,and the muse join forces to prevent this for if the angels get to heaven all creation will go poof!it stars matt damon and ben affleck as the 2 angels.alanis morriseete as god,chris rock is rufis and even george carlin as a bishop in the church.of the jay and silent bob movies it ranks second id say,but a lot of people say its the best also.it is the best religious based movie of all time!however,it will piss off all church goers.no naked chicks in this one either.chris rock,although normaly one of the most obnoxious racist bigots alive,actualy doesnt bitch too much in this one.he does make a good point that if there is a christian god-and lets face it theres probaly not-hes black.why would he be anything else?the world started in AFRica right?i abselutely love this movie!

24 Didn't live up to the hype
The idea of skewering the Catholic Church is not new. Nor is it particularly "brave", since they're supposed to love their persecutors. I'm still waiting for the "brave" film that skewers, say, militant Islam. Yeah, you kind of lose your courage when you might actually get hurt.

Anyway. The general hype looked promising. A film that pokes fun at Catholicism. I popped in the DVD and waited.

And waited.

Let's see: there were excrement demons, a black apostle, some homicidal angels ... but where was the satire?

It's a shame. This film would have worked better as a comedy. That is, if the writer/director(s) had said, hey, let's make this humorous. Throw in some jokes, some laughs. After all, they had Chris Rock. The idea of a black apostle is sort of funny; why not make it intentionally funny? They had George Carlin; why not make him say some funny lines? Why not have those two *write* some funny lines?

But no. As it is, I'm not sure what the film really is. The heroine's deadpan, bored delivery might be a clue.

Apparently some viewers thought it was a satire or comedy, but perhaps it's sarcasm. Or just plain meanness, trying to convince others to suffer through this tedious film. Or maybe - maybe they really thought it was funny - no, wait, I'm starting to entertain really wacky thoughts here.

Borrow, don't buy.

25 Brilliant
Some find it odd that some one of my most oft-repeated sayings when discussing religion in serious conversations comes from a Kevin Smith movie -- "I think it's better to have ideas. You can change an idea. Changing a belief is trickier." But I think that that line alone made this movie more than just a screwball comedy, controversial for the sake of being controversial. "Dogma" has some actual messages to get across, and it just happens to do it in a much more enjoyable way than, say, "The Passion."

The movie follows a disillusioned Catholic woman (Linda Fiorentino) on her journey, ordered by Metadron (Alan Rickman), to stop two fallen angels (Ben Affleck and Matt Damon) from reentering heaven, thus rendering God's word reversible and ending the world as we know it. Along the way, she encounters workers of God, prophets, and the missing thirteenth apostle (Chris Rock, my favorite part of the movie). I'm not going to reveal any more of the plot, except to say that Alanis Morissette makes a pretty unexpected (and funny, when you consider the absurdity of it) appearance.

The great thing about "Dogma" is that it always seems to know exactly what it's doing. There's parts when it's supposed to be screwball humor (which is most of it), and parts when it's supposed to be more serious. It blends these two perfectly together, and the result makes you laugh and think at the same time. Truthfully, not many movies can do that. Sure, some may watch it only for the appearance of Kevin Smith regulars Jay and Silent Bob (Jason Mewes and Smith himself, respectively) but if you look deeper, there's some real substance to this movie. It's not a bashing of the Catholic church; it's simply a movie that reminds you to ask questions. Highly recommended unless you're an easily offended Catholic.

26 An original, bright, comedy
I should probably start this review by saying that Dogma was forced on me by my best friend, an avowed Kevin Smith fanatic. Having only seen Chasing Amy before (and enjoying it a great deal), I was quite ready to dip into a movie by the same writer. It stirred up a fair bit of controversy at the time, although having watched it I can say it's not actually that controversial. Indeed, it's embracement of all 'ideas' comes almost perilously close to schmaltz. Saying that, this is exactly the kind of screwball humour I love. See, there are two disgraced angels (Damon and Affleck) who find a dogmatic loophole through which they can re-enter Heaven, thus ending the world by proving God to be fallible. So it falls upon Linda Fiorentino's lapsed Catholic, as recruited by The Voice of God (Alan Rickman), to put a stop to their dastardly plans. Along the way she's aided by prophets (Jay and Silent Bob), the forgotten 13th apostle (Chris Rock) and a muse (Salma Hayek). All against Jason Lee's horn-headed baddie.

The humour comes thick and fast, with some absolutely classic scenes involving Damon's Loki exacting vengeance on a board meeting, Alanis Morissette's God doing handstands after defeating the apocalypse and some very very brilliant pop culture references. The acting is also crucial, with particular stand-outs including Damon's most freewheeling role yet, Fiorentino treading a fine line between the serious and the comical and Affleck proving that with the right script and a role that doesn't reek of self-satisfaction (Pearl Harbour anyone?) he can be a very likeable, good, performer. It of course goes without saying that the supporting cast is uniformally excellent.

Still, the script does pander to vulgarity several times, which you'll either lap up or resent given the nuance, interesting humour of the rest of the movie. Smith also has a slight tendency to over-talk his script, as if to constantly to remind us that this is a satire and not something to be taken seriously. Whilst he points out in an ironic foreword that this should be evident ten minutes in, he still feels the need to hammer it in a little too much. Saying that though, the serious elements of the story are mostly done very well, thanks in no part to Fiorentino. Destined to become some kind of cult classic among Smith fans, this is a much smarter and funnier comedy than any of the one I've seen this year yet. So, whilst not brilliant perhaps, at the very least Dogma is witty, vibrant and original.

27 God Has A Sense of Humor
Title: Dogma

Director: Kevin Smith

Cast: George Carlin ... Cardinal Ignatius Glick
Matt Damon ... Loki
Ben Affleck ... Bartleby
Linda Fiorentino ... Bethany Sloane
Jason Lee ... Azrael
Alan Rickman ... Metatron
Jason Mewes ... Jay
Kevin Smith ... Silent Bob
Chris Rock ... Rufus
Salma Hayek ... Serendipity

Tagline: "Faith is a funny thing."

Plot Summary: Here goes. Two angels who have been cast from heaven hatch a plot to thwart God's plans. Um...meanwhile, a woman who has lost her faith is commissioned by God to stop them, and she learns a lot about herself and about God in the process.

Review and Comments: There, how'd I do? It's freaking HARD to summarize what happens in this movie. Going into it, I had NO IDEA what was going to happen in this movie, and I was totally shocked by what I saw. But we'll get to that in a minute. First...

Main Entry: com*e*dy
Pronunciation: 'k�-m&-dE
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural -dies
Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French comedie, from Latin comoedia, from Greek kOmOidia, from kOmos revel + aeidein to sing -- more at ODE
1 a : a medieval narrative that ends happily b : a literary work written in a comic style or treating a comic theme
2 a : a drama of light and amusing character and typically with a happy ending
3 : a ludicrous or farcical event or series of events
4 a : the comic element: humorous entertainment

Now. When I pay money to watch a comedy, I expect that perhaps serious things will happen, but that overall, this things will be portrayed in a humorous light and that the proceedings will go down easy, even when said comedy contains things I probably shouldn't laugh at-i.e. things most people would find offensive. I expected to find lots of things that most people find offensive in this movie, since I knew it dealt with religion and most people totally lack a sense of humor when it comes to religion. When I was discussing this movie with someone who told me that it might offend me, I said that I could handle it, because, after all, "God has a sense of humor." I was highly amused to find that exact declaration at the beginning of this movie, in the utterly hilarious series of disclaimers. I thought I was ready for whatever happened in this movie.

Is everyone familiar with the term "Dark Comedy"? This term regards events that are serious, but presented in such a way that they elicit laughter...often in a "You have to laugh or you'll cry" sense. Well, if that's the definition of a dark comedy, then Dogma is a pitch black comedy of the darkest kind. There are scores of violent onscreen murders, there's angel dismemberment, and there's a scary performance that moved me to declare, "Wow, Ben Affleck can act." In other words, there are tons of highly disturbing things that happen that I didn't expect, and I'd just like to warn people right now that while this is an intensely entertaining and overall fun film, there are some downright freaky moments that nearly caused me to have a heart attack because I wasn't expecting them. Be forewarned.

I'm familiar with the journey story outline taken here...a character embarks on a journey, gathers friends along the way, learns some kind of a lesson through the proceedings, and is a changed person when the movie ends. In this movie, most of the lessons are about faith; about believing in something you cannot see. Within the mythology of the film, no denomination or church has gotten everything right about God, so it's fun to watch the different reactions when the characters learn the truth about what God is really like (and the complex heavenly infrastructure, complete with angels and demons and...Muses? From Greek Mythology? Ok...).

I have a very strong faith in God (a faith that has helped me through many difficult times, and a faith that is so strong it moves me to capitalize the "G" in God even when I try not to), and because of my faith I can fully relate to the quandaries faced by the lead character Bethany. God can be cruel. God's plan is hard to understand. Life often doesn't make sense. And the one that people often refuse to say...God is freaking WEIRD. This movie captures that weird spirit perfectly. The quest that is given to Bethany is weird, and the companions that she picks up along the way on this journey are even weirder.

But central to all the weird happenings, the movie has a good heart. The things Bethany learns as she proceeds along this journey and the way she comes to a realization of God's love are moving. The whacky moments are plentiful...just about everything that happens is weird in one way or another. And the action is top notch, keeping me on the edge of my seat as I was drawn into this world. My head filled with a seemingly endless stream of questions that kept me guessing...Will the demons prevail? Will the angels succeed in thwarting God's plan, thus proving God fallible and destroying the premise upon which the world is built-that God can't be wrong? How many people will have to die strangely disturbing violent deaths before this film isn't classified as a comedy by most video stores? I was so drawn into what was happeniong that when the movie finally ended, I was still thinking about the ideas it had presented. Most people don't talk about this this, but in the bible, lots of things happen that make no sense, and people are forced to trust in God even when they don't have answers. That's what this is about, and I loved seeing it presented in this way.

In fact, I loved every minute of this movie...whether I was laughing or crying or covering my eyes or gasping in disgust. This movie surprised me so thoroughly that my first thought after finishing it was to watch it over again to see what I'd missed the first time. I absolutely loved it, even as I realize why it offended so many people. So maybe I can't watch it with most of my friends. I love it anyway.

The Bottom Line: I repeat: God has a sense of humor. So do I. This movie is indescribably weird in every possible way (and in a few ways that I once thought were impossible) but it's engaging, exciting, and hilarious as well.

28 "Even God has a sense of humor"
This is a smart comedy about religion and the Church. We find a great cast of different stars playing God, angels, demons, muses, prophets and apostles. I can understand that for some people religion is a very serious issue and that these individuals may take offense in this movie. However, if you do no belong in this group, I highly recommend you to watch this film, since I am sure you will have a great time.

The Church is in a renewal process and seeking to attract people to enlarge its flock. Some of the changes involve revamping the depressing image in the crucifix for a smiling, winking and thumbs-up Christ. Also, a Church in New Jersey decreed a day in which everyone that passes through its gates will be cleansed of all sins and forgiven by God. Loki (Matt Damon) and Bartleby (Ben Affleck) are two angles that have incurred in God's wrath and therefore were expelled from heaven and condemned to live in Wisconsin from the rest of their eternal lives. They see this as an opportunity to be forgiven and allowed to return to heaven.

The path to their destination is not an easy one though, since by achieving their forgiveness they would prove God wrong, and existence will cease because it is based on the fact that God is always right. Therefore, Loki's and Bartleby's journey affects a large number of people and other mystic figures. There are two sides to the conflict, those that want to prevent them from getting to their destination, and those that want to help them and create chaos. Among muses, demons, the thirteenth apostle and a Golgothan, which by the way is super gross, we find a woman named Bethany (Linda Fiorentino). She is at a tough stage in her life and has almost lost her faith, but is requested by Metathron, the voice of God, to stop the two angels in their quest.

The way in which the film questions some of the beliefs of religion is smart and funny, and the talented cast help make this a very pleasant experience. For example, Chris Rock in his role of the thirteenth apostle is hilarious, showing his usual sense of humor with quick and witty jokes. I also found interesting the questioning of God's sex and Jesus race, which I think spices up several scenes throughout the movie and allows for some very funny moments.

29 Reigning catechism and dogma
A friend asked me a while back if I'd ever seen a Kevin Smith movie. As much as I try to keep up with cinematic trends, I had to admit I hadn't quite gotten around to Mr. Smith's work so far. So recently, I made a point to pick one up. Freud says there are no accidents, so does that mean that I unconsciously sat down to watch DOGMA in the wee hours of a Sunday morning before I realized it was, in fact, EASTER SUNDAY? And if so, does that mean, I'm merely irreverent--or completely sacreligious. This while everyone else is trundling off to take in THE PASSION. Yikes! I scare myself.

Oh, wait. I read what others have posted and am somewhat relieved. Smith himself does not view the film as sacrilege. It's his funny Valentine to the Church itself. (Don't expect flowers in return, Kev, but at least a few of us lapsed get your drift). And, hey, as even Madonna is quick to point out, once a Catholic always a Catholic.

It doesn't really matter that the theological ramblings of some of the characters are kind of sophomoric, even freshmanic. Even you've ever had an all-night theological bull session in college, you'll relate. And it doesn't really matter that the characters who most often indulge in the bull throwing are in fact angels who should probably know better. After millenia of being banished to the third ring of Wisconsin, how can you expect much else? And why are these angels named after the Norse god of thunder and a Herman Melville's less than motivated scrivener?

In other words, this movie really is a movie of ideas. Whether these ideas are really all that profound is another matter. Can Church law actually be twisted in such a way that the very universe unravels? Can God possibly look like Alanis Morissette--and sound like a Wookie? These are questions that won't keep anyone up at night, but the movie is just brainy enough to let the eggheads and the budding theologians in on the overall fun.

And it is fun. Good cast, pretty good script--dialog that is mostly sharp (with some clunker lines interspersed among the gems). Unfortunately, as the amazon.com critic above observes, the movie suffers due to direction that is only fair to middlin'. It took me a while to realize that the actors weren't off, so much as the pacing. A lot of the dialog seems rushed. Linda Fiorentino is normally such a natural, but in many scenes her dialog seems alternately rushed and repetitive. Eventually, it dawned on me that she (and Alan Rickman and other normally very good actors) had been indeed been "on," but the camerawork, the choppy delivery of lines and overall pacing--all directorial concerns--contributed to the impression that the actors weren't doing all they could. (Actually, they were probably doing MORE, actually working harder than usual.) I mean, Chris Rock should always be slam dunk funny. Here he has his great and not-so-great moments.

So the film remains something of a shaggy dogma story. And if you keep that in mind, you'll likely find the film a lot of fun. I don't know how it fits in with his entire oeuvre, but it piqued my interest to check out more. Kevin Smith is an original talent. And besides, Jay and Silent Bob are cool guys.

30 DOGMA: A Preview of Hell
DOGMA has scores of "comedic moments" pumped into it. The problem is, none of them are the least bit funny.

Example: Rock flops down and is asked if he knows Christ. Rock replies, "Hell yeah, nigga owes me fi dollas!" I kid you not.

At one point, a Sh*t Monster appears. No, I don't mean Alanis Morrissette. An actual creatue made of feces shows up for our "amusement." Are you starting to see a pattern?

DOGMA tries desperately to push all the comedic buttons it can, but each attempt yields nada. The cast can't save this ungodly flop. Neither can the so-called "message." Hell, I don't even think the God it claims to glorify could make this film watchable.

If DOGMA doesn't make you an atheist, nothing will.

31 Catholic Parents: This is a must see movie (no joking)
I wish I could rate this two ways. I believe it should get 5+ stars for it's illumination of one modern Catholic's mindset, but must give it 1 star for how wrongheaded the enterprise was written and directed. The director, Kevin Smith, has called this film "...my love-letter to God and to faith - which is about the only thing we really truly have in life."

This should surprise a great number of the critics of this film who wrongly believe Smith is slamming the Church. He further states, "Faith is the glue that holds us together and binds us (kind of like the Force). It's something we all have in common - even if you're not a religious person." Clearly this shows he is NOT the faithless iconoclast as portrayed by the good-hearted but misguided efforts of the Catholic League, but rather this is a man whose movie is a statement of his faith as he understands it. And while it is intentionally satirical of many things, if viewed not as a slam but as a love-letter, a well catechized Catholic can gain some pretty incredible insights from it.

I'm not promoting this movie in regards to how well it expresses the Catholic Faith - far from it. It is wildly inaccurate and largely ignorant of history or of the arguments that underlie fundamental beliefs of (most) Catholics. But there is a payoff.

Watch this movie and realize something: this is a product of a mind formed by a lifetime of Catholic schools. Smith himself has said that the inspiration for this movie came from a nun who taught religion.

This man's imagination was formed by those whose grasp of the truth of the gospels and the church were as murky and erroneous as they were (doubtless) devout and sincere. It's simply bad modernist theology played out on the big screen. This is perhaps the key to Smith's confusion on the part of orthodox Catholics who take umbrage to his opus. He isn't the devil incarnate, a ridiculing and blasphemous jerk who's trying to take a stab at the religion and faith of millions. Rather, Smith simply doesn't get it. And though we are all responsible for our own actions, take heed of this example and feel pity for this man who has been sold a theological bill of goods that doesn't quite add up in the light of day. See this film; discuss with others its merits good and bad. But above all, make sure you know what your own children are taught as regards their faith. Don't depend on a school's clout or reputation - see what's going on with your own eyes. Finally, pray not only for Smith, but for schools that market themselves as Catholic. Pray that they become capable once again of teaching leaders of tomorrow like Smith to once again be unabashedly, unashamedly, and unambiguously Catholic.

32 Catholics Parents: This is a must see movie (no joking)
I wish I could rate this two ways. I believe it should get 5+ stars for it's illumination of one modern Catholic's mindset, but must give it 1 star for how wrongheaded the enterprise was written and directed. The director, Kevin Smith, has called this film "...my love-letter to God and to faith - which is about the only thing we really truly have in life."

33 Very Funny!
I can certainly understand why some people wouldn't like this film. Taken at face value, it is a rude and crude comedy. Going one layer deeper, it is an unsubtle attack on organized religion. However, if you were lucky (or unlucky) enough to have been raised as a Catholic, this movie is an absolute must-see. The film runs like a continual inside joke. It cranks out constant humor at the expense of the church, but at the same time validates the church's teachings. It is the mad-magazine version of the 6th-grade catechism; the national lampoon version of the stations of the cross. Yes, there is a lot of profanity and some of it comes across as gratuitous. But if you can put that aside, this movie provides a very moral tale not so different than the ones that Sister Barnabus used to tell in grade school - but a lot more fun.

34 Dogma is a movie with real ups & downs
Downsides: Kind of noticeably low budget, and affleck & damon are particularly bad in this movie.

Upsides: (1) The plot, as it's presented, isn't totally horrible (yes, that sounds slightly bad, because it kind of is in an absolute sense, but relative to affleck & damon's acting it's actually an upside for this movie), and (2) bethany, jay, silent bob, & the 13th apostle actually are pretty darn good.

35 ...and a third of the angels were cast out with him
The original meaning of the word was "that which seems good", and hence it was applied by classical authors as a technical term either to the distinctive tenets of the various philosophical schools or to the decrees of public authorities.

So, what does this have to do with the movie? Ironic as it seems for such a bizarre film, it all turns on a minor dogmatic point -- accepting that Roman Catholic dogma is the operative framework for the entire existence of the universe (something even I have yet to meet ANYONE who holds true), a logical inconsistency would render the universe inoperative, and thus it would blink out of existence.

In an attempt to 'update and popularise' Catholicism, a bishop in New Jersey (George Carlin, of all people) introduces a new campaign that includes a papal indulgence, which will absolve those who walk through the archway of a particular church. The angels discover this, and are determined to exploit this papal pronouncement to their benefit -- in dogmatic terms, whatever the pope says on earth is binding in heaven (not quite, but that's what the movie presents) -- and thus God cannot refuse them re-entry. This sets up the logical problem.

The heavens charge a particular woman Bethany, (Linda Fiorentino), who turns out to be the last descendent of Jesus Christ's family (of course, the Bible left out the details of his family), with stopping the angels from reaching the church. In the course of her charge, she encounters the Voice of God (Alan Rickman) who appears as a flaming, burning-bush type of phenomenon, and promptly uses a fire-extinguisher to put out the flames.

Azrael (Jason Lee), a minor leader of demons, has command of agents to try to stop the Last Scion from stopping the angels. Why? Well, I cannot tell you. This would give away too much of the film. But, suffice it to say, the forces of evil seem to want the angels to prove God wrong (or, at least some of the forces of evil want this). By the way, I am inclined to agree with this demon on at least one point -- central air conditioning is one of the greatest things in creation

Rufus (Chris Rock), the thirteenth apostle (also left out of the Bible, because of his race) appears to the Last Scion and the Prophets to help them in their quest.

Bartleby, who had normally been the voice of reason against Loki's brash fire-and-brimstone approach (well, he was the Angel of Death, after all), becomes upset at the efforts being used to stop them, and turns into a Satan-esque figure bent on opposing God.

But, where is God? We find out that God is missing (something that many in many religions can relate to much of the time, alas), only to discover that God likes to take the occasional holiday. The angels and the choirs of heaven are worried that Bartleby and Loki will succeed in destroying the universe while God is away from his(her) desk.

Oh, ye of little faith. God in the end, in the form of Alanis Morrisette, does show up to save the day, in more ways than one.

Lots of people were very offended by this film (just as some might be offended by this writing!). It does poke fun (scathing, caustic wit is more like it, in truth) at religion in general, Christianity in specific, and the Roman Catholic church in particular. As a priest, I thought there were some questionable scenes and would have preferred a little less foul language; but overall, I thought the premise and the storyline were creative and inventive. I'm quite surprised, actually, that it became a controversy -- I would never use this film for a catechism class, but my fellow seminarians and I had quite productive discussions talking about the topics brought up in the film.

With a fair share of language and violence, this film is not for school age viewers. As a focus point for discussing religion or the growing problems of society, this film will give abundant fuel. This film is uniquely weird, but filled with brains and thought provoking in-your-face statements. A certain cult-candidate.****

36 A Must Have For Kevin Smith Fans
If you are obsessed, as I am, with the works of the very underrated Kevin Smith, then you can enjoy this Collectors Edition with no worries about lack of content or even worry about having seen everything that there is to see in the movie Dogma.

37 Its Just a Movie (Although a Really Funny One)!!
First off, Dogma isn't supposed to be takin seriously. None of Kevin Smith's movies are, for that matter. So, for all of you naysayers who do nothing but harp on this movie, please, do all the fans a favor: GET OVER IT, AND DON'T WATCH IT!!! Now, that's been said, on to the movie. This was the first Kevin Smith movie I had ever viewed, and from the get go, I liked it. The acting, for all characters, is enjoyable. You can believe the actors are there characters (which is kind of the point, right?). As a Catholic myself, I was apprehensive of this film, until I realized that it is just a movie. If you're the type of person who can watch a movie, and not take all of its messages to heart, please, view this one. Actually, there is one good idea that this movie brings to light. There is a line in the film that says "So you believe now?" "No, but I have a pretty good idea." This line refers to the thought of religion, and if you are one those fanatics, then maybe it isn't your flick. But maybe, just maybe, you can walk away laughing, and even thinking, which I believe was Kevin Smith's main idea.

38 Top Notch DVD
As with all Smith movies, this DVD delivers the goods.

First, the movie. It is one that needs to be viewed as a "thoughtful comedy" to be appreciated. It deals with some heavy duty material, but is done so in more of a "what if" manner. This is not to be taken as the absolute truth. Anyone who thinks that this is an indication of how things are needs their head examined.

Acting wise, Matt Damon, Chris Rock, and Jay Mewes shine. Even Ben Affleck is quite entertaining. In all honestly, Linda Fiorentino is the only disappointment. Everyone else pretty much NAILS their roll.

And of course, the commentaries are great. The actor one barely mentions the film, which is actually very amusing. And the deleted scenes are great, though somewhat frustrating without the play all button. This was fixed with Jay and Silent Bob Strike back though.

Check it out.

39 one of the best movies ever
at first i thought this movie was making fun of christian views but it actually is a great movie and has some many issues that they address such as god actually being a girl instead of a guy...all the actors do a great job in this movie esp. jason mewes...who i happan to be obbessed/in love with...lol...its a must see for teens like me

40 Stupendous
Time and time again, Kevin Smith demonstates his brilliance. This movie is definitely his most thought provoking. Sure no one knows everything about the true nature of God. Like many great intellects of the best, Smith realizes that simple Faith is the answer to some many of the Big Questions. Sure He can sometimesbe vulgar, but all his movies are excellent in one way or another. Being a young catholic, I do find this to be my favorite.

41 ABSOLUTELY HILARIOUS
If the use of any vulgar language bothers you, this is not the movie for you. If poking fun at religious dogma where religion-(not just Catholicism)-cannot defend itself, this is not the movie for you.

However, if you are open-minded enough to realize and accept that all points of view have merit, and can just enjoy a damn funny movie for its own sake, then this is definitely the movie for you!

The opening credits advise you to not take the movie seriously and it is your own fault if you do. This movie is crass, profane, and disturbing. It is thought provoking and deeper than it first seems. It is also one of the funniest movies I have ever seen. Some people may see this movie and think Kevin Smith & Company are ridiculing people of faith, if not faith itself. I think nothing could be further from the truth. This movie has the message that God does exist. In what form does God exist? Well that is the question. No religion is more right on than the next. The fundamentalists of every faith would definitely disagree.

There is no one "right religion." But to use a line from Inherit the Wind: "Right" has no meaning whatsoever. But "truth" has meaning as a direction.

I am religious and I thought this movie was fantastic!

42 Dogma
Is hilarious! You won't stop laughing!
An incredibly imaginitive take on religion...'Buddy Christ' *lol*
You won't be sorry you rented this!

43 Orignal and Dazzling!
"Dogma" has got to be one of the most orignal movies that I have ever seen. It is a religious comedy that is always funny and always interesting. The only thing that you could do during "Dogma" is to listen to the dialouge. It works so well and the dialouge is often used by people just because it is so fresh and things like that have never been said before. The same has to do with most of writer/director Kevin Smith's work. He is the one who brought us the great movie "Clerks," and other comedy greats like "Mallrats," and "Chasing Amy." I've only seen four of the five movies that Kevin Smith made, but this one is probally my favorite because of its story. I love the story and I love the humor. Crude, yet appropiate for the movie. People often wonder WHY this movie has such strong profanity and crude and sexual humor, but those people just don't seem ot understand. These are the kind of characters that use profanity and crude humor. Its just that kind of person, like you and me. Kevin Smith makes these characters perfect which is another reason why this movie works so well.

The star of the movie is Bethany Sloan, who works at an abortion clinic, and has to deal with the protestors with signs like "Child Murderer." Events in her life has began to question her belief in God, but everything changes when she meets Metatron, the voice of God, who has a job for her. Cardinal Glick has designed a Church during its 100th year that has an archway that could lead to return of two banished angels Bartleby and Loki. Since God banished them, and his choice is infallible, it would prove that God is wrong, and the universe would just be nothing. The church is in New Jersey and Bethany is aided by two "prophets" by the names of stoners Jay and Silent Bob. Jay lets Bethany go along with him on the hopes of being able to sleep with her in the end, and Silent Bob, barely speaks. They also meet Rufus the 13th apostle who is never heard of and is now forgotten, and Serendipity, a muse with writers block who is right now pretending to be a stripper. God becomes missing, and Bethany and her group get to New Jersey while dealing with the demon Azruel and his street hockey gang of thugs. Azruel is hoping to help the two angels so that he could get his revenge of God. Bartleby and Loki get closer and closer to New Jersey, but Bethany cannot give up all everything in the universe would just...disappear.

When I first saw the movie I never saw anything of its kind. I feel that when it was released it could have recieved and Oscar for Best Orignal Screenplay. It was a critically acclaimed film that has many fans, and many people who don't want to see it at all. But those are the people who are missing out of this fun. It has an all-star cast. Linda Fiorentino, George Carlin, Jason Mewes, Kevin Smith, Alan Rickman, Chris Rock. Salma Hayek, and Jason Lee, all of which have huge comedic talent and are perfect in their roles.

ENJOY!

Rated R for strong language including sex-related dialogue, violence, crude humor and some drug content.

44 A Bad Joke
What a worthless, childish and pretentious movie. It`s supposed to be a satire on catholicism, but is such an inane film that I almost felt pity for it. So this is what a hip, clever, witty movie should be nowadays, eh? Well, in fact it`s just a lame mess. The beginning isn`t bad, Damon and Affleck have a couple of entertaining scenes with some black humour, but it doesn`t last for too long and soon falls into mediocrity. The film seems endless and gets worse from scene to scene. In the end, "Dogma" is a failed parody with a few decent moments and a lot of crap. The characters are flat and uninteresting, the acting bland and the direction shows little creativity. While it's strange, different and offbeat, it doesn`t qualify as being actually something worthwhile and poignant. A letdown.

45 Intelligent? Farce?
I think that's the biggest beef I have with this movie - that some actually think it's "intelligent"! How far we have fallen ...

Is it blasphemous? Not really ... it's too puerile in its pretensions to be blasphemous, because it ends up taking shots at an unrecognizable form of Catholicism. Monty Python, while hilarious, makes the same mistake - they've ignored Homer Simpson's "it's funny because it's true." The best humor and satire work because they things they parody and attach are represented somewhat accurately. "Dogma" spoofs a "straw God" - a God of their own invention. And falls flat.

Is it funny? There are a couple of funny bits, but otherwise it's surprisingly lame in scripting and pace. I enjoy a good satire as much as the next guy ("Life of Brian" comes to mind, although again saddled with its addled "theology". But whereas Python is enjoyable because of their silliness, "Dogma" limps because it's just stupid and shows a pretentious non-understanding of the subject matter.) "Clerks" is infinitely better in these areas. (Warning for those who haven't watched it: "Clerks" is funny but quite vulgar.) Affleck and Damon are good at delivering what passes for sophistry these days, but the heroine, Bethany, is flat, lifeless, monotonic, and sardonic. Almost as if she didn't realize the camera was rolling and it was time to act. Chris Rock suffers through awful lines. Rickman is somewhat fun, although his lines suffer from the movie's childish theology.

Is it parody? Satire? People, it's just not intelligent enough for either. Unless "Can God make a rock to heavy for Himself to lift" is the extent of your idea of intelligent philosophizing.

As for charges that the Catholic Church slept throught the Holocaust - perhaps *reading* (since we're at Amazon, after all) some actual history will prevent such tired falsehoods from showing up in scripts in the future. Wasn't a Pope honored by the Jewish people for saving Jews? Seems to ring a bell...

46 another kevin smith masterpiece
Just like Mallrats, the cover kicks ass!!! The special features in this dvd isn't too shaby either. Theres not really much of a featurette, but it includes over an hour of deleted scenes. This movie makes you think. The best scenes are between Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. I can't believe I mentioned Ben Affleck and a "good scene" together in the same sentance. The only films he's ever good in are Kevin Smith movies. Jay and Silent Bob are funny in this too. The weird thing about this movie is knowing what to classify it under. Comedy? Drama? Action? You need to see this movie!!!!!and buy it.....

47 The most hilarious movie I've ever seen.
The title of this review says it all, and I stand by it and believe it. Of the New Jersey Legacy, I have to say that this is certainly the best film of them all. It has a lesson, humor, biblical allusion, and creativity.

The characters that interact all have the most subtle nuances, which isn't expected from a Kevin Smith film, but it really works. The religious humor is exponentially more funny to me because I know a huge amount of theology and much about Church History. Highly recommended.

48 Bizarre, but good
"DOGMA" is a good movie. It's incredibly bizarre, but in an interesting way. Some may hate it--sex is mentioned, drugs are used, and language abounds.

Alan Rickman, as Metatron, is excellent and probably the best actor in the film. Matt Damon & Ben Affleck (renegade angels banished to Wisconsin for the entire span of human history) are actually quite good, and their friendship comes across.

My only complaint with this movie is that it could be so much more polished. The story line is a little choppy and jumpy in some places, the language could be cut down (not because I find it offensive, but because it disrupts what the characters are trying to SAY), and some of the drug usage (do we really need to see an angel smoking weed?) is absolutely pointless.

Good movie, though, with good points. If you're interested in watching it, rent it. Chances are you'll hate it--or love it.

49 an interesting but controversial film
After hearing that this film had offended many Christians, I decided to see it and find out. Being Christian myself, (protestant) I was curious.

I heard that this film was offensive particularly to Catholics. Not being Catholic, I wasn't sure of everything that would be offensive to them, but I can see why so many Catholics were offended.

It does have a few scenes that offended me, but there are plenty of other films which were far more offensive.

If you are devout Catholic, this movie will offend you. If you are a Protestant, this movie might offend you. If you are secular and like off-color humor, you will probably like this film.

50 THIS MOVIE IS REALLY FUNNY!!!
Dogma is a great and funny movie by kevin smith.This movie maybe the best in the new jersey series.I would recommend getting this movie to any fan of kevin smiths movies.

51 Dogma rocks!
Witty, irreverent, beautifully written and directed, "Dogma" is an instant classic! Anyone here giving it a poor review has no sense of humor, and in some cases, a too-large vocabulary coupled with an inability to spell correctly.

I'll admit, the start of the movie is quite abrupt, and I didn't think I'd like it at first, but as it progressed, it quickly won my heart and landed a place amongst the greatest films I have ever seen.

The humor isn't for everyone, and while I wouldn't go so far to say that the movie is anti-Catholic, I can see why this movie might offend those with delicate sensibilities.

All in all, this movie definitely earns 5 out of 5!

52 Kevin smith is sheer genius
how does he come up with this stuff? this is by far my favorite movie. its funny, but it also makes you think about life. if you havent seen this i DEFINITELY reccomend seeing it A.S.A.P. if i were you i'd just buy it now because after you see it you will anyway

53 Awsome
Great movie, even beter if you are familiar with the bible and not afraid to challange your faith.

54 Sloppy, self-important, and, ultimately, dull and dumb.
I went into Dogma with relatively high hopes. After all, the team of Affleck and Damon seemed relatively intelligent, relatively imaginative, and successful enough to push something original past the studio types. I was wrong. Dogma is a cynical, self-important little film that takes on big topics. But unlike inspired, creative films that often hold up well in such fights, Dogma is like a frail, blind tabby in a cat fight. It's so busy tripping over topics and ideas that can't get its paws on, that you want to turn your eyes away in embarassment.

The worst part of Dogma is the odd preachiness of it, as if some half-baked philosophy major is trying to explain the Truth to you after a half-dozen Amaretto sours at the college pub. You can almost imagine the sophmoric sessions where such "great" ideas surfaced, including the "inspired" decision to to cast George Carlin as a Cardinal. ("He's Catholic, man! Do you get it? You should hear his early albums where he talks about Catholic school! How cool is that! Wouldn't it be awesome if ...") That's one of the problems with Hollywood. Filmmakers are a bright, iconoclastic lot in general, but they usually are neither well-read nor particularly insightful. And maybe that is appealling to the large group of 18 to 35 year olds who wouldn't know Erasmus if he hit them over the head with a lectern. But for anyone looking for a genuine, intelligent satire about organized religion, skip this and get The Meaning of Life.

55 Kevin Smith's satire on religion,good vs evil,and christ
Writer and director Kevin Smith's first View Askew movie on christ,religion,and good vs evil.the movie has different plots to it,with lots of violence and foul language.here's the plots and characters.the plot: a woman that believes in god must travel to stop two fallen angels that want to get back to heaven.a awesome plot.

THE CHARACTERS:
Bartleby{Ben Afleck}-The fallen angel that needs to get back to heaven.he is either mean or good

Loki{Matt Damon}-The 2nd fallen angel that is Bartleby's partner that is also mean or good

Bethany{Linda Fiorention}-The religious woman that travels to stop Bartleby and Loki

Serendipity{Salma Hayek}-The muse turned stripper that follows Bethany,Rufus,and Jay and Silent Bob

Azrael{Jason Lee}-The bad demon that helps Bartleby and Loki,he needs to stop Bethany,Rufus,and Jay and Silent Bob

Rufus{Chris Rock}-The black 13th Apostle that helps Bethany,Serendipity,Jay and Silent Bob

Jay and Silent Bob{Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith}-The two slackers that of course follow the three to help

The triplets-Azrael's helpers that kill people with hockey pucks

The crap demon-The demon made of crap that tries to kill the three

The whole movie:A+

56 Kevin Smith is so smart it's almost sickening!
I would give this movie 5 stars just based on the research alone that Kevin Smith had to have done for this film. All of his characters (names mostly relating to biblical days) and back story are nothing short of brilliant.
The story is about two fallen angels (Matt Damon, Ben Affleck) who have been cast out of heaven and forced to live in Wisconsin until the end of existance for giving God the finger. When the two find a loophole in the catholic religion, which would allow them to re-enter heaven, thus by proving that God isn't perfect, all hell breaks loose -literally! Demons come up from hell to make sure that the two angels suceed in their mission which will be the cause of the end of the world. The demons incapacitate God in the body of a comatosed human and are off to help existance cease to exist. In an attempt to stop them, The Voice of God tracks down Bethany - an abortion clinic worker- and convinces her that it's her job to stop the two angels thus by saving all of humanity. And Jay an Silent Bob (What would a Kevin Smith movie be without those two?) are sent with her as two very unlikely prophets, along with the thirteenth apostle (who was left out of the bible for being black!), played by Chris Rock. So now the clock is ticking. Bethany and her gang must get to New Jersey before the two angels have a chance to walk through the archway of forgiveness which would allow them to re-enter heaven.
This movie is full of classic Kevin Smith humor, a great plot, and an amazing cast: Chris Rock, Alan Rickman, Ben Affleck, Kevin Smith, Matt Damon, Salma Hayek, George Carlin, Alanis Morissette, and more).
It is an intelligent and hilarious fantasy film. You don't have to be religious to understand or like this movie! Highly Recommended!

57 Insightful and very funny
This movie represents Kevin Smith's transition into a great storyteller. Even though I loved Chasing Amy, this movie goes a step further. I am actually kind of disappointed that he made that awful Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back after this masterpiece.But anyway...
First of all this movie is very, very funny. Kevin Smith has a great skill for making funny movies. Every actor portrays their characters flawlessly, and are convincing. This movie is also incredibly significant socially, and this is what i am impressed with as far as the story writing goes. First of all Kevin Smith's biblical and theological knowledge was definitely impressive, and the story was surprisingly indepth. The story is a great criticism of what humans have done to faith and spirituality. Don't misconstrue the facts into thinking this is a criticism of faith and that he doesn't like religion. It is merely a criticism of what we have silly humans have done to beautiful things like faith and religion. That all being said, buy this movie for its comedic value alone, and you will miss out on one of the best social commentaries of our time.

58 all ye of little faith....
while more than a few feathers were ruffled (not surprisingly because of the main topic at hand) this movie isn't about bashing religion... well, mostly not. in fact, i'm feeling that the movie might even be some kind of a revelation for some one who questions faith.

kevin smith made such an amazing job as scriptwriter and director considering the gravity of the issue at stake (har har). how he manages to make a movie with a scion who lost her faith, the 13th apostle, 2 angels kicked out of heaven, a muse working as a stripper, 2 foul-mouthed prophets... it boggles the mind. and yet, it rings true as any church bell would. it's not a mega-budget blockbuster but a refreshing and honest look as what the regular joe feels about religion. so many things are said in the movie that are profound, yet never feels like it's been packaged neatly to be palatable like any feel-good disney flick.

personally, i can feel the insufferable pain both angels went through by being barred from the heavens. when bartleby looks into gods eyes... man, that scene was priceless -- even if i do not like ben affleck -- because it's something that any kid who wants recognition from his or her parent would connect to.

salma hayek was great as the .... muse, but i have to say my favorite character was alan rickman as metatron, the seraphim and Voice of God. he's a total riot, with his boundless sarcasm and wit. i ABSOLUTELY love him!

all in all, it's a really great flick that makes you think about the nature of religion, no matter what dogma you prescibed to or not. it's about faith, and that is out of this world.

kecin smith proves that you don't need a lot of money to make a movie that's good.

59 Funny at parts, but then gets stupid.
'Dogma' is funny at parts, but then gets stupid at the end. Mainly for Kevin Smith fans.

60 Fun movie despite lots of foul language
Bartleby and Loki, two angels banished to Wisconsin for the rest of eternity, have found a loophole in God's Law and are on their way to take advantage of a planetary indulgence at the centennial celebration of a small Catholic church in New Jersey. Since proving God to be fallible would make everything cease to exist and with God MIA, an unlikely team of mortals and heavenly hosts come together to try to stop them.

Overall, this is a fun movie. It is not a movie for those easily offended, however. To be honest, we rarely watch our DVD version but catch it on TV whenever it comes on. I wish there were an "edited for TV" version on DVD. The foul language really does not add to the movie in the least and, for me, gets in the way of enjoying it. Jason Mewes' sex obsessed character is funny but the edited version gets the same gist across without having to wade through the language. I would give the edited version 4 stars because it really is an enjoyable movie. However, I put 3 here because of the language and the fact that I can't put three and a half stars.

As far as religion goes, I don't think that this was intended as a theosophical treatise. It is a comedy and there are a lot of religious zingers. Chris Rock, as the thirteenth apostle, claims not only that he was left out of the bible because he is black but that Jesus was black as well. Salma Hayek, who plays a prodigal Muse (Greco-Roman mythology) insists that god is a woman. George Carlin plays Cardinal Ignatious Glick has a whole new program to get "butts in the pews" including a very funny Buddy Jesus. Alan Rickman as Metatron (the Voice) gets peeved about people who's religious knowledge comes from Charlton Heston films. Altogether, lots of laughter but really a superficial dealing with real religious questions. If you get offended on religious grounds, you are taking it WAY too seriously.

61 no ticket
this one is viewed on religion and the churches and heaven and hell and the end of the earth. god goes into a body but is hospitalized and noone knows about it. Bartleby(Ben Affleck) and Loki(Matt Damon) are on their way to Jersey to go home and in doing so create chaos and they have the help of Azerl(Jason Lee), 3 skatepunks and a crap demon. Bethany(Linda Fiorentino) is the last scion and she must recruit a team to help her stop the 2 angels from going back into heaven. she meets to prophets, Jay(Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob(Kevin Smith, the director), the voice of god(Alan Rickman), the 13th apostasle Rufus(Chris Rock) and the muse Serendipity(Salma Hayek). they all are trying to stop the 2 angels. lots of great diologue and the story is wonderfully told. other stars make cameos as well like, Alanis Morrisette(the singer), Bud Cort(the old man at the beginning), Brian O'Halloran(Mallrats, Clerks, Vulgar), Jeff Anderson(Clerks, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back), George Carlin(Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back), Janeane Garofolo(ColdBlooded, MysteryMen, Reality Bites), Dwight Ewell(Chasing Amy and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back)and many others.

62 God Is A Woman, Amen!
The only reason I watched this film was for Ben Affleck, I've wanted to see it for ages, but never got the chance to, or gone out of my way to buy it on DVD. But I did enjoy it, even if it was a bit weird. I definitely want it on DVD now, to shed some more light on the (many) bits that I did not understand!

I'm not a fan of Matt Damon (Loki), he generally annoys the hell out of me, so that was one bit of the film I didn't like. Ben Affleck (Bartleby) was cute though - especially when he was angry! They play the good angel/bad angel, constantly switching back and forth.

There are a few familiar faces in this, apart from the obvious - George Carlin (Bill & Ted - rock on dudes!), the chain-smoking girl from Romy & Michele's High School Reunion, Jay & Silent Bob, Chris Rock (Rufus), Salma Hayek (Serendipity) and Alan Rickman. The latter was definitely brilliant, so sarcastic! Jay & Silent Bob just have to be in every Kevin Smith film, and they totally remind me of the guys from Wayne's World (watch out for the bits in the car). I wasn't keen on them, although Silent Bob plays a great part, and manages to make up for what he doesn't say, with facial expressions etc. He was so funny!

There are two classic lines in this film. Ben's "Do I come across as gay?" and Alan Rickman's "If there isn't a movie about it, it's not worth knowing about." So true!

I thought this was along the lines of The Prophecy, although better! Also, watch out for the toilet scene - similar to the one in Trainspotting, but much, much worse!

Being a film mainly about religion, there's quite a lot to take in, but it is easy to follow. The story also makes you think, especially what Rufus says about Mary & Joseph. A lot of the stuff went straight over my head, due to not being in any way religious myself, but I know the basics. The Apostles etc, didn't make any sense to me, but maybe would to others, who know all this stuff. I did enjoy this film, and would highly recommend it to anyone. I'll definitely be keeping my eye out for the DVD, with plenty of extras, which explain the film more in-depth, and a commentary.

Oh, and the end credits are great, although they were severely truncated by watching it on TV. And God is a woman? Something we women have known for a long time!

63 Dogma Rules
This film is a sick but strangely amusing combination of religon, black humour and the f*&kin strangest cast ever to work together.

The film is very funny and will definitely irritate all those religous freaks!

64 Can't decide what it wants to be
This movie is all over the place. It can't decide whether it wants to be Time Bandits or The Prophecy. Silly humor is mixed with horrible violence and serious themes in a way that can only be described as........puzzling? There are two possible movies here, and they just couldn't decide which one to make. I was not offended at all, but merely bemused at the complete incompetence of the people who made this, when I wasn't bored to tears that is. I have to go back to Dune to find an equally poor offering. My greatest fear was the the movie itself was going to go on for eternity. I found myself rooting for the bad guys to end all existance. Do yourself a favor and avoid it. I'm sure you can all find better things to watch.

65 okay
would have really liked this movie if it wasn't so full of politically correct B.S. like the muse says you only have to have a religion, not be christian or jay and bob say abortion is alright. not many extras.

66 Jay and silent Bob Messangers from her holyness God
I am a catholic but I found this movie very funny. I love Jay and silent Bob so much and this movie helps solidify my love for them. Ben Aflek and Mat Damon put up a great preformance and Budy Christ is such a great idea afterall Jesus didn't come here to scare us he came here to be our friend

67 Great Kevin Smith film
I love Kevin Smith's movies....They're rude, crude, and the dialogue is somewhat intelligent. It's not all [rude] jokes like some people seem to think. Anyways, Dogma is probably his most intelligent film to date. Kevin Smith grew up Catholic, as did I, and this film pokes fun at alot of the stereotypes of Catholicism. He never said it was to be taken seriously, so I don't understand why it is causing such a great controversy! It's a movie! Anyways, I love it, it's hilarious, and I recommend it to anyone who loves a good laugh.

68 A more balanced and thought out review than my last one.....
This is my slightly edited film review, I was feeling kind of angsty at the time when I originally posted a review for this so...., well now I'm gonna tone down the angstyness(hmmm, not a real word is it?) a bit and try and make a bit more sense.

First I have to say, shut up to all you stupid uptight people criticising this film over its apparantly offensive content. It seemed to me like a very pro-faith movie if any of you actually bothered to watch it at all, it encourages people to at least come to their own ideas over God and religion, instead of either just blindly believing in God out of fear, or like most people, abandoning God completely due to Gods total irrellevance today in todays society. (No I don't mean that God is irrelevant, just that the church seems to make no effort to reach out and educate people about God and get them interested in real religion so to most of todays people, if they don't actually realise what God is, then why would God mean anything at all to them). I go to a christian church school and I spend a great deal of my spare time looking into philosophy - existentialism, So I do maintain an openmind and understand the messages this film is trying to convey to the viewer. (heres the ANGST - 'And personally I do not give a F**k if this film happens to offend anyone, if you don't agree with this film then fine, your opinion, but those of you who are so self-righteous that you refuse to even think about what this film is trying to convey to you, then, thats your problem.' - There is a genuine point in there somewhere though, it just hasn't been expressed very well - but basically you should at least try and view this film objectively and if your going to hate it, hate it for the excessive swearing, or poor acting, or plot or whatever, just not the religious aspect of this film - as it does essentially strike me as a pro-faith movie and is doing a hell of a lot more to get the average person interested in their spiritual selfs than the church is).

Now on to the actual film cast itself, overall In my opinion the film includes some very excellent and very witty dialogue. The cast are great, Kevin Smiths best film I think, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are both very good, Alan Rickman, has given much better performances, but is still very respectable in his role, and as for Chris Rock, This is the only film I've ever seen him act well in, and in this role hes not just good, hes excellent. And of course, Jay and Silent Bob, amazing and hilarious again(wooooo).

I can understand why some people may not appreciate the excessive swearing, violence and sexually orientated jokes, but the again thats just Kevin Smiths style so, you either love it or you hate it..........

69 3RD BEST KEVIN SMITH MOVIE,BUT VIOLENCE KIND OF RUINS IT
Funny,smart,obscene,and quite brilliant,Kevin Smith shows us a comedy about christ,good and evil,sinners and saints.after a two fallen angels Ben Affleck and Matt Damon fall to earth all kinds of trouble ensues,after Alan Rickman tells Linda Fiorentino to travel to New Jersey she is almost killed by hockey players sent to kill ordered by devil Azrael but slackers Jay and Silent Bob help her,and travel to New Jersey and take the 13th apostle,Bethany,and others to help.only reason it's 3 stars and not five or four is because violence kind of ruins it and Linda Fiorentino in her worst role.but there are some funny bits.Rated R for Violence,Profanity,Crude Humor.

70 BUDDY JESUS!
You want a good laugh? Get this movie - it doesn't matter what religion you are, you will have a good time and this movie is the "bomb"! If you don't know Jay and Silent Bob, Rent Clerk and Mallrat, both a classic.

This movie makes you think, cry at time and laugh most of all. Not at religions, not at God, just a good laugh, great actors.

And Buddy Jesus is there to make you SMILE!

71 This is an amazing movie!
I cannot believe the negative remarks about this film! Kevin Smith's movies are INCREDIBLE, and this is another hilarious work. I have heard from some who get too engrossed in the idea that the story is blasphemous, blah, blah, blah. Watch the film and enjoy it! If you put your preconceived prejudices aside, you will really like the movie! It's funny as hell!

72 Good idea with a mediocre execution
Dogma is a funny movie indeed. My brother and I were laughing out loud in the theater at many of the jokes and I found it to be a very enjoyable form of religious satire. I particularly liked the portrayal of God as a playful girl who likes to smell flowers.

But where Kevin Smith drops the ball is in the dialogue. It seems that lots of the plot warranted explanation on his part, so he had almost every character read off twenty sentences at a time of rediculously contrived answers to theological questions. At its worst, Dogma starts to feel more like an after-school special than it does a religious satire.

But I have to hand it to Smith for doing this. It's not easy to write and direct a movie that pokes fun at the religion you grew up in only to have half the movie-going public cry blasphemy in your direction.

Still the cast is good and the jokes are funny. It's worth the hour-and-a-half of your time.

73 Good idea, but too much violence detracts from satire
This movie started with an intelligent, nervy idea, and is extremely well-cast. Trouble is, there's not enough cutting satire, and what there is gets overshadowed by some rather ugly scenes of ruthless violence. It doesn't matter how cute Matt Damon is, it's just not funny when he takes out a large handgun and blows innocent people's heads off. Ditto Ben Affleck, who's the lesser actor, and whose own adventure into bloodletting at the end ruined the film.

Salma Hayek and Alan Rickman totally outclassed everyone else in the production. The Jay character was not as funny as we wanted him to be (note to Kevin Smith: you can be lewd, and you can be crude, but it ain't funny if it ain't delivered right).

In short, not enough potshots at the church, and too many gunshots at the walk-ons.

74 Kevin Smith
All you people are really stoopid f*cks... can't you just enjoy the film for what it is? Stop reading between the lines and talking about the film being blasphemous. If you dont find it funny, then fine, maybe you just have "sophisticated" tastes but i dont give a f*ck, jay and silent bob was the best comedic duo ever created by the genius kevin smith

75 grate movie
i've seen this movie 1 1/2 times. and i just wanan say: it's awesome! and it's so true too...like that Buddy Christ is SO sumthing those catholics would do.
and it's got alot of good points in the movie from the bible that the catholics tend to hide. also, since the main chick in this movie is Jesus' great great great great great great great great great great niece, it just goes to show that jesus DID have bro's and sisters!! but that wasn't a surprise to me, since i READ the bible...something supposed "christians" tend not to do...
but this didn't get 5 starz cuz there WERE some parts that were offensive to me. being as i'm a Christian.
but all in all this got a Four. and i would recomend this movie to anyone, but there's too much swearing. although if there wasnt, i know lotsa ppl who would appreciate the true facts from the bible in this movie!

76 The Emperor
So, I saw this movie last year and was unimpressed; I was surprised because I expected to like it, having heard that it was a funny, intelligent movie. Today I decided to give it another chance and watch it again. I still didn't find it to be a very inspiring or entertaining film.

I noticed that the reviewers who said things like "This movie really made me THINK, man!" didn't mention what it made them think about. My theory about this film is that people see it and, rather than admit that they don't get it and risk sounding foolish, they act like there's this really profound message hidden there that they understand. I am here to tell you that there's really nothing to get. It's a very superficial movie. The emperor wears no clothes.

"Dogma", aside from a few chuckles and some talented actors (I have no idea what lured them), was intellectually empty. It left me cold. Okay, Catholicism is antiquated, people are losing faith in religion and becoming disinterested in churches, and organized religion contains more than its fair share of hypocrisies. Oh yeah, and we are a culture of brain-dead TV-o-philes who know nothing of history. Yadda yadda yadda. And the point?

I don't feel that any conclusions or solutions were made at the end of the film...I didn't get what Kevin Smith's big picture was supposed to be. The story had some references to historical characters (Azrael, the angel of death), but then had some other people who had names of famous historical characters for no apparent significance (i.e.:Bartleby is a character from a Melville novel about the tediousness of working; no relevance to character in movie), which was irritating. I guess I was trying to read between the lines to find some hidden meaning where there was none. When a movie is labeled as inventive, it generally means it's multi-layered, which Dogma is not.

George Carlin as a cheesy modern priest made for some limited chuckles. Jason Lee was a fascinating-to-watch Azrael. Salma Hayek had great energy and sex appeal. Jay and Bob were as boring as cement. Chris Rock was spritely and funny as the "13th apostle" (funny gimmick there). Linda Fiorentino was at her absolute worst. She pretty much rolled her eyes and smiled sarcastically through the entire movie. Yawn. Janeane Garafolo had a cameo and would have been better in the lead. The casting of Alannis Morrissette as God and the whole ridiculous ending scene with her capering about like a lobotomized flower child was unintentionally hilarious.

I did enjoy Kevin Smith's other movies. I suppose if you're a big fan of his you'll want to see this. But I'm willing to point out the emperor's underwear.

77 Devils and divinity
Dogma, from the Greek word meaning opinion. Imagine that!

According to the Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, `The original meaning of the word was "that which seems good", and hence it was applied by classical authors as a technical term either to the distinctive tenets of the various philosophical schools or to the decrees of public authorities.'

--The Fallen Angels--
Enter the fallen angels. Ben Affleck and Matt Damon star as Bartleby and Loki, the angels who rebelled against God (not in the major, Satan-ic way, but in rather more minor work-stoppage way). They have been banned from heaven, and spend most of their time watching cartoons and hanging out in airports people-watching.

--The Dogmatic Hat-Trick--
In an attempt to 'update and popularise' Catholicism, a bishop in New Jersey (George Carlin, of all people) introduces a new campaign that includes a papal indulgence, which will absolve those who walk through the archway of a particular church. The angels discover this, and are determined to exploit this papal pronouncement to their benefit -- in dogmatic terms, whatever the pope says on earth is binding in heaven (not quite, but that's what the movie presents) -- and thus God cannot refuse them re-entry. This sets up the logical problem.

--The Last Scion--
The heavens charge a particular woman Bethany, (Linda Fiorentino), who turns out to be the last descendent of Jesus Christ's family (of course, the Bible left out the details of his family), with stopping the angels from reaching the church. In the course of her charge, she encounters the Voice of God (Alan Rickman) who appears as a flaming, burning-bush type of phenomenon, and promptly uses a fire-extinguisher to put out the flames.

--The Hellish Plot--
Azrael (Jason Lee), a minor leader of demons, has command of agents to try to stop the Last Scion from stopping the angels. Why? Well, I cannot tell you. This would give away too much of the film. But, suffice it to say, the forces of evil seem to want the angels to prove God wrong (or, at least some of the forces of evil want this). By the way, I am inclined to agree with this demon on at least one point -- central air conditioning is one of the greatest things in creation!

--The Prophets--
Yes, this being a View Askew production, we could hardly do without a visit from the guys from Clerks, Jay and Silent Bob, who turn out to be the Prophets (actually, perhaps it is spelled 'profits'). Unlikely prophets (as, in fact, most prophets are), but basically good at heart.

--The Apostle--
Rufus (Chris Rock), the thirteenth apostle (also left out of the Bible, because of his race) appears to the Last Scion and the Prophets to help them in their quest.

--The Golden Calf--
Loki and Bartelby stop for a moment to pay a visit on a Disney-esque corporation for one last fling as vengeance and destruction angels. The icon of this corporation is a Golden Cow (or Calf), and their crime is encouraging the worshipping of false idols. Hmmmm... Perhaps not all of this movie is so off base.

--Seredipity--
'You people don't celebrate your religion, you mourn it', she says. Serendipity, once a concept, is now personified (in the actress of Salma Hayek), and joins the quest. She is the one who realises that the bishop's golf club, because it is blessed, is thus holy, and can be used against a demon (another piece of dogmatic finery - hmmm, perhaps I should bless my tennis racket!).

--The Conclusion--
Bartleby, who had normally been the voice of reason against Loki's brash fire-and-brimstone approach (well, he was the Angel of Death, after all), becomes upset at the efforts being used to stop them, and turns into a Satan-esque figure bent on opposing God.

Oh, ye of little faith. God in the end, in the form of Alanis Morrisette, does show up to save the day, in more ways than one.

--The Priestly Commentary--
Lots of people were very offended at this film (just as some might be offended by this writing!). It does poke fun (scathing, caustic wit is more like it, in truth) at religion in general, Christianity in specific, and the Roman Catholic church in particular. As a priest, I thought there were some questionable scenes and would have preferred a little less foul language; but overall, I thought the premise and the storyline were creative and inventive. I'm quite surprised, actually, that it became a controversy -- I would never use this film for a catechism class, but my fellow seminarians and I had quite productive discussions talking about the topics brought up in the film.

Beware of the language and a few offensive scenes. But make a list of theological questions. See how many theological points that weren't in Charleton Heston films you don't know! We can have a productive discussion later.

78 One of the worst films ever made
DOGMA is easily one of the worst films ever released by a major studio. The only film I have seen that exceeds it terms of sheer stupidity is 20 DATES.

The film is so jaw-droppingly idiotic and incompetent that I rubbed my eyes several times while watching it, and asked myself, "Am I really seeing and hearing what I think I am?"

If you gave an eight-year-old a movie camera, s/he'd make a better film.

How is it possible that actors with respectable resumes such as Linda Fiorentino, Salma Hayek, Ben Affleck, and Chris Rock deigned to appear in this sickening morass of cinematic retardation?

After 45 minutes of 4th-grader scatological humor and sniggering-little-boy sexuality, I ran out of the theater. I HAVE NEVER LEFT A MOVIE THEATRE BEFORE THE END OF THE FILM BEFORE.

There is nothing---ABSOLUTELY NOTHING---"blasphemous" about this film. It couldn't be "blasphemous" if it wanted to! Blasphemy implies that you have some knowledge of the history of religion!!!

If you want to see real films that challenge Catholicism, look up Luis Bunuel!

79 Good effort, but flawed, don't expect a masterpiece
I give this movie, 3 and a half stars for a good effort. It could have been a 5 star movie if it wasn't for all of it's flaws, to me it seems like it was perhaps put together too quickly without thinking the whole thing through.
I believe what Kevin Smith was trying to say with his movie is that organized religion is bad. Bad because when it gets into the hands of people it becomes the religion of the people rather than something holy, it becomes manipulated. This idea could have been portrayed in a movie, but this movie is not the one.
The movie comes off as preachy in some parts, which is very annoying and corny. A lot of the reviewers here are angry that they bash the Catholic religion, but they miss the point that he is bashing all orgainized religion. This is it's main flaw, it does not make this clear for a number of reasons. First, it uses everything from the Bible. So a direct interpetation would be that Kevin Smith is saying that Christian religions have the right idea but they manipulate it...as for all the other religions (budism, hinduism) well they can all go to hell!
I understand Smith's point but he does not make it clear enough that he is bashing organized religion and not one specific one. Anyone that doesn't believe in the bible can be very offended by the movie because this movie, though some people say 'it makes one search for thier own beliefs', it doesn't. It makes one search for thier own beliefs within the bible.
I know that Smith was not saying that the bible is the basis of everything with this movie, but like I said, this movie was not thought out well enough. It was flawed.

Like I said, I give it 3 1/2 stars, the reason I show it as four instead of three here is not because I am leaning towards four stars, but because this movie had more than just philosophy to offer. It had comedy, and for that it is a very good movie. I reccomend this movie to anyone who wants a good laugh. It will give you a few! If you don't anylyze the film it can be very enjoyable simply because it is funny.

So to sum everything up: Nice try at having philosophy in your movie Kevin Smith, but it didn't work like you wanted it too. But it was funny. Don't take my word though, go rent it and have a good laugh.

80 WAKE UP!!
This movie is great. It is really interesting. This movie has often been accused of being offensive and a mockery. What's so offensive. Plus, at the beginning, it tells you that the movie is not to be taken seriously. It is a work of comedic fantasy. They're not making fun of Catholicism. They are exploring the possibilities. Everyone has questions that they want answered. But there are billions of questions that can't just be answered. It's not that simple. This movie is exactly what people needed. It is thought-provoking. Yoy don't have to love it. Nobody's forcing you to. Plus, there is a lot of truth in this movie. It has many interesting points. I mean it kind of helps people come to a realization. I mean, how hard to you think it would be if you were a twelve-year-old boy, who wanted nothing more than to play with other kids his age and live his life. Then one day, someone tells you that you are the only son of The Almighty God, and what this means is a lifetime of persecution and eventual execution in front of the very people you have come to love. How could you come terms with something like that. You are here for a purpose. Whatever that purpose may be, you make a difference.

81 Faith Has Never Been This Funny
There were a large number of critics and audiences who were dowing Kevin Smith's work in Dogma saying that it was bashing the Catholic faith. Well I am Catholic and I have a strong faith. I attend church every sunday and am invloved in many things at my church. Myself, along with many other Catholic people I know, were able to watch this movie and have a sense of humor with our faith. You people have to understand that Kevin Smith was not downing the Catholic faith, he was simply celebrating it, and one of the ways of celebrating your faith is to have a sense of humor with it. Not "make fun" of it exactly, but instead just kind of look at it in a different and funny way. You will not be sent to hell for having fun with your faith.

Dogma is about two banished angels Loki(Matt Damon) and Bartleby(Ben Affleck) who have found a loop hole to get themselves back into heaven. The only problem is that if they find a way to get back into heaven, this proves God wrong and mankind would be erased and it would completely unmake the world.

So an angel who acts as the voice of God(Alan Rickman) is sent to earth to find the only hope of saving the world, and it lies within the hands of Bethany(Linda Fiorentino). The problem is that Bethany works in an abortion clinic and has run out of all faith in God. So she is then charged with a holy crusade: to stop Loki and Bartleby from gaining re-entry to heaven. With the help of the 13th Apostle left out of the bible because of his color(Chris Rock), a Muse with writer's block(Selma Hayek), and two very unlikely profits, Jay and Silent Bob(Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith), Bethany sets out to fulfill her mission and in the process, learns many interesting facts about her faith.

So before you bash this movie saying that it is too offensive to Catholic faith, watch this movie again sometime. It has many good points. Selma Hayek proves a very good point in one scene when she says, "You people don't celebrate your faith, you mourn it." And when the Cardinal in the movie says, "Christ didn't come to earth to give us the willies. He came to help us out. He was a booster!" is a great point. So lighten up with this movie. Kevin Smith's intention was not to offend anyone, it was to inspire Catholics to stop mourning their faith and have a more positive look at it. This movie was great.

"DOGMA" runs for about 2 hours. It is rated R for very strong language including strong sexual dialogue, some drug content, crude and sexual humor, and some violence and breif gore.

82 This is not a good movie
First off, I'm not Catholic, so like so many other reviewers here on Amazon, I don't dislike this movie for its Catholic bashing. All I can say to those people is relax. The only reason that this movie gets more than 1 star is because of the fact that so many Catholics are so fired up about it. Other than that, there are absolutely no good points about this movie. The writing, acting, and direction were typical Kevin Smith garbage. Is it a trend in movies for the director to be one of the stars of the show? M. Night Shamalan (or however you spell it) does it, Kevin Smith does it, Danny DeVito does it. Shamalan and Smith should stay behind the camera (DeVito was fantastic in Death to Smoochy...a far better film...so he's good to go).

What do we get from this movie? Organized religion (specifically Catholicism) is a bad thing (even God agrees) although humans are totally inept in making their own way through life without a personal belief in God. This movie is a 2 hour personal justification for not wanting to go to church. If you don't want to go to church, then don't. I certainly don't care, I don't even believe in any God. Interestingly enough that is probably exactly why I don't find much worth in this movie. Do I really need to be witness to every movie that deals with the in-fighting among the Christians?

Kevin, do us all a favor, take some classes on how to make a good movie. For the reviewer that compared Smith to Oliver Stone, wake up. For anyone who wants to watch a good movie, don't buy this one.

83 Not groundbreaking, just kind of stupid
I read a bunch of reviews on this site claiming this movie showed a comical look at "organized religion." As a catholic, I thought I'd see the movie and , hey guess what? The only things they really made fun of were sterotypes of catholicism. Apparently, the other religions are perfect in every single way, and catholicism has no real place in today's culture, as the movie suggests.
The movie, despite it's arrogant views, does offer its moments where it is pretty funny (The scenes with the voice of god come to mind).
Overall, I feel this movie would have been a lot better if it simply didn't pick on stereotypes of catholicism, and actually addressed the issues that the movie tries to put forth.

84 Blasphemous Reverence
Or is that reverent blasphemy? Dogma is that rare, refreshing film that actually is about ideas and belief, yet doesn't take itself too seriously at the same time. Since I'm not Catholic I suspect I'm probably missing some of the jokes and religious connotations but that didn't bother me at all. Kevin Smith fans (of which I'm one) can tell you the plot details and characters. I'll just say this: Dogma is a film that makes you think about the deeper issues of religion and what being human is about, without the bathrobe-and-sandals posturing of your standard God-based movie. It's a film that takes its religious implications very seriously but with a wonderful shaggy dog presentation. Sure there's some plot holes and pacing problems, but these are minor flaws in a seriously funny (and comically serious) movie that should raise both minds and discussions.

85 Hilarious look at the view of Catholic religion!
I seen this movie in the theatres when it came out and fell in love with it from beginning to end. This movie contains more of the smart humor mixing fact with a hilarious factoidic twist! I can see why people either really hate the movie or really like it and that is mainly because that's how Kevin Smith directs his movies. If you like what you see in the beginning of this film then the whole film is non stop keeping you watching and listening till the credits role. Surprising cast at work in this one as well!

86 Move over Clerks, Mallrats, & Chasing Amy, Dogma's in town!
Director Kevin Smith (Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back) made a new movie in 1999 after CA and before JASBSB. It was a religious drama, WITH JAY AND SILENT BOB!!?? You ask yourslef, how can it be a drama with 2 stoners with nothing better to do than hang out by the Quickstop in Leonardo, NJ? It was a dramedy, I guess. With stars like Linda Fiorentino, Chris Rock, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, and many more, Dogma is an all-star movie with an all-star cast. In a small town in Illinios, Bethany Sloan (Fiorentino) is given a task by an angel (Alan Rickman) to stop Bartleby (Affleck) and Loki (Damon) from entering the doors of a church in Asbury Park, NJ. If they do, God (Alanis Morrisette) will be proven wrong and the end of existance (The Apocolypse) will come. To help Bethany, two profits, Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Kevin Smith), and an apostle, Rufus (Chris Rock) are sent. But in her way stands Azrael (Jason Lee), a former muse, and three of his henchmen. Also in the gang to stop evil is a muse (Selma Hayek) who they find at a strip club. If you haven't already seen Dogma, see it. I also recommend any of the other NJ Series movies. A warning though, if you haven't seen Clerks, Mallrats, or Chasing Amy yet, then wait to see the last installment, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. Good day, and see you at the movies.

87 All hail the King of dvds (God, this is good)
Ah, Mooby...

Kevin Smith is one of the hottest young filmmakers today. And it is no wonder, he makes great films--Clerks (what he did on such a small budget and his work as an indie film), Chasing Amy (not your typical Kevin Smith movie, but a great film, Dogma (the best of what he has done), and even Mallrats was good, though it did poorly at the box office and Jay and Silent Bob Strikes Back (his spoof of himself). But Dogman is his crowning achievement.

Dogma is easily in the top 100 movies ever made. Smith's dialogue is on par. It's a great satire as well as a philosophical/theological statement (the thinking man's movie). And done his way--the independant way. Smith does a great job directing, and his script is well-written (though he is flexible enough to make changes while shooting). And Smith and his producer Scott Mosier do their own editing--a real bonus as it helps keep the director's vision alive.

Smith also pulls out some great performances in this film. Linda Fiorentino plays the main role of Bethany Sloane. She does a good job, but her performance is below the rest of the cast. She is just a little too low-key. Matt Damon gives a brilliant performance, and even Ben Affleck (and actor I have little respect for) gives a solid performance, though he tends to be upstaged by Damon. Alan Rickman gives a respectable performance. Chris Rock and Salma Hayek are wonderful. Jason Lee is great, as he always is (easily the best performance of the film). Of course you have Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith as our favorite duo - Jay and Silent Bob. Great job guys. And there are good performances by George Carlin, Alanis Morissette (a particularly hard role since there is no dialogue), Janean Grafalo (oh how I wish she had been casted as Bethany, the role was made for her), Better Aberlin (as the Nun--you know which one), Dwight Ewell, Ethan Suplee (as the Golgothan), and of course Walt Flanagan. There are a few glitches and a few casting questions, but overall Smith pulls great work out of his actors.

As a dvd, Smith puts together a #1 package for his fans. First of all it comes in a nice slipcover case instead of that cheap packaging so man dvds come in. His menus are interactive, cartoonish, and very entertaining. There's this odd 'grandma' lady running around the dvd. She's great. There are two commentaries. The first is your typical Kevin Smith commentary: the cast and crew sitting around, eating, and cracking jokes, occasionally talking about the movie. and of course, you have Affleck hamming it up trying to get the spotlight on him with absolutely nothing to say. The second commentary is a technical commentary, with only Kevin Smith, Scott Mosier (producer, and it was his idea to do this track), and Vincent Pererra (View Askew 'official' historian). This commentary focuses on 'the how' of how the film was made. A value for any independant filmmaker, especially since Smith doesn't fall back on money and CGI. It's a shame he didn't include a commentary track like this on his previous films (but maybe there were enough complaints and that is why we have it here). And on disc 2 - There are over and hour and half of deleted scenes, storyboards (for the mooby sequence, triplet attack sequence, and no man attack sequence), outtakes, the trailer, and advertisement for Kevin Smith's comic books store Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash, and one of the most interestingly done filmographies/biographies I've ever seen on a dvd. This is how dvds should be done. All you other filmmakers and distributors, take a good, long look at this dvd, and learn from Kevin Smith. This is what we pay for, this is what we want (in addition to a good movie).

And I end with this: picture it--the Buddy Christ.

88 My Favorite Movie
Currently this is my favorite movie. Josie and the Pussycats and Chasing Amy are also in the running, but we'll see how that pans out. I'm weird. Can You Tell? Yet? Kevin does something remarkable here. He combines a religious message with comedy and doesn't end up being irreverant. He ends up with a movie that postulates the positive messages of Christianity while questioning the Dogma and keeping it all light and humorous. This is not an easy task. But Kevin does it deftly. Yes this movie has a poop monster, but thats actually a strength. Kevin didn't want to make a movie that hit people over the head with Christianity and screamed "believe or else" like others have done. Kevin instead intersperses the theology with comedy and makes you think. Kevin has made a movie that not only entertains but enlightens. What more could you want? Jason Lee, huh? Guess what, h