Dogma [Blu-ray] by Kevin Smith, starring Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Linda Fiorentino, Bud Cort, Barret Hackney: DVDNear.com

Dogma [Blu-ray]

Dogma [Blu-ray]
by Kevin Smith

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DVD Cover Information

Actor: Barret Hackney, Ben Affleck, Bud Cort, Linda Fiorentino, Matt Damon
Director: Kevin Smith
Brand: Sony
Cinematographer: Robert D. Yeoman
Editor: Kevin Smith
Writer: Kevin Smith
Editor: Scott Mosier
Producer: Scott Mosier
Producer: Jonathan Gordon
Producer: Laura Greenlee
Blu-ray: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language); French (Dubbed)
Format: Anamorphic, Color, Dolby, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen, 2.40:1
Running Time: 130 minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: 2008-03-11
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Movie Reviews of Dogma [Blu-ray]

Movie Review: Life, the universe, and everything
Summary: 5 Stars

It's difficult to write a perceptive review when you're not sure what the film maker's intentions are. It's self-evident that the script is (as Kevin Smith says) "the product of 28 years of religious and spiritual meditation". You don't knock out such a complex piece of writing in a couple of weekends. But as for the why...

Smith has multiple targets, one of which is the "cutesying" of religion, as shown in the "Catholicism WOW!" campaign and the "Buddy Jesus" statue. (Not to mention the idea that the church has to adjust to human needs, rather than human beings doing what God requires of them.) He's also poking fun at religious dogma, which can include ridiculous and self-contradictory beliefs (such as those that drive "Dogma"s plot).

The issue that Smith only briefly addresses, and skips over the answer to, but which is at the heart of all arguments over God and His/Her/Its relationship to mankind is... Why would infinite eternal Spirit create a finite temporal universe, subject to change and corruption? It is the patently self-contradictory belief that the material universe is God's creation that leads to the mental and moral confusion about why we're here (we aren't) and what we're supposed to do about it (grow out it). The simple answer to The Problem of Being is that, if God is infinite, then there is no room for anything unlike God.

There's no question that "Dogma" is a broad attack on organized -- and therefore materialistic -- religion, so no sincerely spiritual person could -- or should -- be offended by it. Organized religion doesn't need Kevin Smith to attack it -- to any reasonably thoughtful person, it's its own worst enemy. I am, however, offended by the almost-continual flow of vulgar language. Less -- much less -- would be more, and more-effective.

Smith has done a good job of converting a philosophical essay into a watchable film. It sags at spots (particularly at the end), and Smith's direction could be a bit more focused and "stylish", but it's great that a film actually has something to say -- even if it isn't always clear what that something is.

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Summary of Dogma [Blu-ray]

One of the most talked-about movies of the year is also one of the funniest! In this hilarious comic fantasy from writer/director Kevin Smith (Clerks, Chasing Amy) two banished angels (Ben Affleck and Matt Damon) find a loophole that would get them back into Heaven. The only snag? They'll be destroying existence in the process. In an effort to stop them, The overworked Voice of God (Alan Rickman)taps cynical mortal Bethany (Linda Fiorentino) to save the world by preventing the angels from reaching their unholy destination: New Jersey! Throw in two unlikely prophets named Jay and Silent Bob (Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith), the quick-witted yet little-known thirteenth apostle (Chris Rock) and a sexy, former muse with a case of writer's block (Selma Hayek) and you've got an hysterical and thrilling race against time packed with an all-star cast.

Kevin Smith is a conundrum of a filmmaker: he's a writer with brilliant, clever ideas who can't set up a simple shot to save his life. It was fine back when Smith was making low-budget films like Clerks and Chasing Amy, both of which had an amiable, grungy feel to them, but now that he's a rising director who's attracting top talent and tackling bigger themes, it might behoove him to polish his filmmaking. That's the main problem with Dogma--it's an ambitious, funny, aggressively intelligent film about modern-day religion, but while Smith's writing has matured significantly (anyone who thinks he's not topnotch should take a look at Chasing Amy), his direction hasn't. It's too bad, because Dogma is ripe for near-classic status in its theological satire, which is hardly as blasphemous as the protests that greeted the movie would lead you to believe.

Two banished angels (Ben Affleck and Matt Damon) have discovered a loophole that would allow them back into heaven; problem is, they'd destroy civilization in the process by proving God fallible. It's up to Bethany (Linda Fiorentino), a lapsed Catholic who works in an abortion clinic, to save the day, with some help from two so-called prophets (Smith and Jason Mewes, as their perennial characters Jay and Silent Bob), the heretofore unknown 13th apostle (Chris Rock), and a sexy, heavenly muse (the sublime Salma Hayek, who almost single-handedly steals the film). In some ways Dogma is a shaggy dog of a road movie--which hits a comic peak when Affleck and Fiorentino banter drunkenly on a train to New Jersey, not realizing they're mortal enemies--and segues into a comedy-action flick as the vengeful angels (who have a taste for blood) try to make their way into heaven. Smith's cast is exceptional--with Fiorentino lending a sardonic gravity to the proceedings, and Jason Lee smirking evilly as the horned devil Azrael--and the film shuffles good-naturedly to its climax (featuring Alanis Morissette as a beatifically silent God), but it just looks so unrelentingly... subpar. Credit Smith with being a daring writer but a less-than-stellar director. --Mark Englehart

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Dogma [Blu-ray]