Dogma (1999)

Gimly September 8, 2018

★ 7/10

I didn't know it at the time, but watching _Mallrats_ on VHS as a kid was my first foray into View Askew, but it wasn't until _Dogma_ that I realised there was something bigger and better I could latch on to with Kevin Smith at the helm. _Final rating:★★★½ - I really liked it. Would strongly recommend you give it your time._

Peter McGinn April 27, 2021

★ 7/10

I bought this as a DVD years ago assuming it was some kind of drama or thriller a la The DaVinci Code. Turns out it is a comedy - well, almost a farce it seems. As an atheist I am okay with mocking organized religion, but he plethora of blasphemy might be too much for some viewers. There were a few plot holes that jumped out at me, but they were forgivable in this type of comedy. With a wink and a nod, they cast edgy comedian and atheist George Carlin as a big time evangelist or bishop or something. It seemed to take a while for the various pieces of plot to merge together, unless it was just me being thick. The movie has some laughs and is well written in places. Alan Rickman looks like he is having fun, which meant that I did too when he was on screen. So yeah, it was a fun watch mostly, but on the other hand, I gave away the DVD, so there’s that.

CinemaSerf November 13, 2025

★ 7/10

Though I did think some of the visual humour here was a bit puerile, some of the writing really does expose the concept of religiosity across almost all faiths to some fairly unflattering scrutiny, and at times holds the idea of monotheism up to some carefully calculated and potent ridicule. Of course, it’s supposed to be a comedy and much like Monty Python’s satirical “Life of Brian” (1979) it is deliberate in it’s intent to poke some fun at something hitherto left well alone by Hollywood. The story is all about God’s former enforcer “Loki” (Matt Damon) who had got tired of killing Egyptian babies and visiting plaques on mankind, and so had quit. That left his boss quite cross and saw both him and his friend “Bartleby” (Ben Affleck) banished to live on earth with all the pesky humans. Then, one day they get a copy of a newspaper article that suggests that there might…