Ah, Kevin Smith, what gems you present us with. For those not in the know, Dogma is the fourth movie by accomplished director Kevin Smith, the first three being (in order) Clerks, Mallrats, and Chasing Amy. The first three movies have been comedic dramas, chock full of monologues to carry the story. Dogma, on the other hand, whips at a breakneck pace from joke to joke, scene to scene; and it does it well.
Kevin Smith's movies have been all been loosely tied together with small references to other movies, as well as two minor characters - Jay and Silent Bob (played by Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith, respectively). Dogma's only exception to this rule is the fact that the characters of Jay and Silent Bob have received a much brighter spotlight. The presence of the two characters themselves add a link (and a silent wink & nudge from director Kevin Smith) to the previous three films.
Dogma's cast also contains many View Askew (Smith's production company) alumni, including Brian O' Halloran (Dante Hicks in Clerks and minor roles in every following Smith movie) who plays a television anchorman, Jeff Anderson (Randal in Clerks) portraying a gun salesman, Ben Affleck (Holden McNiel in Chasing Amy) as the Gregori Bartleby, and Jason Lee (Brodie in Mallrats, Banky Edwards in Chasing Amy) as the self-serving Azreal. The really observant Kevin Smith fans may also notice other reoccurring actors.
As for the movie itself? Well, let's just say that after two viewings, this is definitely a movie I want in my collection. Although that hardly makes for an informative review, does it?
Dogma is the story of two outcast angels (not demons, just outcast from Heaven and sentenced to Wisconsin) who want nothing more than to return to paradise. These two angels, Loki and Bartleby (Matt Damon and Ben Affleck) have recently been sent a letter from an unnamed source who points to a church in New Jersey where Cardinal Glick (George Carlin) has started the campaign entitled "Catholicism Wow!" as a way of sparking new life, and membership, in the Catholic Church. However, one of the tenets of the new campaign is the abolishment of sins upon entrance into the church, which would not normally seem to be a life-threatening thing; the two outcast angles, intend to enter the doors, and once free of sin, remove their wings - making them mortal - and die, thus re-entering the splendor of Heaven. Unbeknownst to them, this will rip the entire fabric of existence, as for them to return to Heaven would prove that God is not infallible, a preset on which the universe was built.
This is why Metatron (Alan Rickman) appears to the Bethany (Linda Fiorentino), an abortion clinic employee who has lost her faith, seeking her assistance to stop the two angels from undoing the universe itself. Along her journey, she runs into two "prophets" Jay and Silent Bob, the Thirteenth Apostle (Chris Rock), and a Muse known as Serendipity (Salma Hayek). However, not only does Bethany have to stop the two angels, she also has to get past the traps laid out by the Demon Azreal (Jason Lee).
The movie is well put-together, and moves at a brisk pace, seeming more like watching a warped game of In Nomine () than a screenplay. The fact that Kevin Smith is a self-admitted gamer, may prove that theory to be more true than initially thought. Dogma is rife with comedy, drama, and discussion of theology and metaphysics, which Kevin Smiths winds into a singular, spectacular, thread. And while I still prefer Clerks, having worked in retail for six years and relating to so much, Dogma has won it's way to the second position in my ranking of Kevin Smith movies.