The problems with Dogma are that it's uneven, overlong, and occasionally uninteresting.
Dogma (1999)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:122
Fresh:82
Rotten:40
Average Rating:6.2/10
Consensus: Provocative and audacious, Dogma entertains without overtly offending.
Runtime: 2 hrs 13 mins
Genre: Comedies
Synopsis: 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... 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. [More]
Starring: Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Linda Fiorentino, George Carlin
Starring: Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Linda Fiorentino, George Carlin, Salma Hayek, Chris Rock, Alan Rickman, Jason Lee, Bud Cort, Alanis Morissette, Jason Mewes, Kevin Smith, Janeane Garofalo, Brian O'Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Guinevere Turner
Director: Kevin Smith
Director: Kevin Smith
Screenwriter: Kevin Smith
Producer: Scott Mosier
Composer: Howard Shore
Reviews for Dogma
Often excessively coarse, uneven in the pacing (a lengthy train-ride sequence is entirely superfluous) but also great fun.
When Smith's not practicing the humor of outrage, he's preaching to a choir highly likely to be perplexed.
Filled with interesting, thought-provoking concepts, but the script never manages to explore them with any degree of depth, and the humor rarely rises above junior-high locker-room level.
Despite its rowdy humor, it's a movie that has you cheering for God. Why would you want to ban that?
The real problem with Dogma is not its anti-Papism, but its aggressive and offensive piety.
Dogma is unrelentingly and blisteringly hysterical, which, in measured doses, is fantastic.
Dogma is a raucous, profane but surprisingly endearing piece of work, a funny and lively film of ideas.
A scathing, scurrilous, sometimes silly but often searching comedy about the nature of faith in the 21st century.
Kevin Smith's religious satire alternates between moments of brilliance and painful sections that just don't work.
The result is a mish-mash of tones in which such absurdities as singer Alanis Morissette's appearance as God undercut any emotional responses you might have to the climaxes involving Bartleby and Bethany.
The script is full of interesting ideas but frequently they go by at lightning speed.
Moviegoers who don't think about what Smith is trying to say will have no problem taking it all for an adolescent joke. But those who do stop to ponder his message will find Dogma harder to dismiss.
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