Dogma

Rating:
Summary: Strangely uplifting -- still
Review: "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 ha 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!

Rating:
Summary: Funny but unfulfilling
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: i love this movie
Review: i know a lot of people hated this movie, but i loved it. it was great. just a nonsense movie. great if you just want to sit down and laugh. jay and silent bo are awesome. i recommend it and all the rest of the kevin smith movies (except jersey girl).

Rating:
Summary: I Walked Out of the Theater and I'm Protestant
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting take...
Review: 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.


Rating:
Summary: Shocking for some, but remember: It's just a movie.
Review: 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!