by Anthony O'Connor
Worth: Discs: 2, The Film: 4/5, The Extras: 4/5, Overall: 8/10
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Linda Fiorentino, Alan Rickman, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Jason Mewes, Kevin Smith, Chris Rock, Jason Lee, Salma Hayek, George Carlin
Intro:
… this is the feature-rich Dogma collection fans have been praying for since 1999.
The Film:
The year was 1999 and Clerks writer/director/actor Kevin Smith was at the peak of his popularity. After the slight blip of Mallrats in 1994, ol’ mate Smitty came back strong with 1997’s Chasing Amy – a romantic comedy about a straight dude nailing a lesbian. His next film, Dogma, however, was set to be his magnum opus. An epic ode to Smith’s Catholic faith – interspersed with pop culture references and dick and fart jokes, naturally – featuring a staggering roster of A-listers in major roles and an ambitious comedy-fantasy storyline.
Despite the unusual premise, the film was a massive hit (and Smith’s most successful film to date) with audiences flocking to see the vulgar but ultimately quite wholesome tale of lost faith and second chances.
And then, after a similarly solid run on home media, Dogma vanished. It was forever kept hidden in a dank sub basement thanks to Harvey and Bob Weinstein who, for reasons no doubt deeply nefarious, wouldn’t allow Smith to buy back the rights to his own film to release it in the era of streaming.
Years passed and Smith would occasionally bring up the fact that he was still beavering away, attempting to break the clammy grasp of the Weinsteins.
And, finally, that time has arrived as Dogma has been freed from its shackles and is available in a gorgeous new 4K edition from the good samaritans at Umbrella.
Can we get an amen?
Dogma is the story of Bethany Sloane (Linda Fiorentino), an abortion clinic counsellor who is questioning her faith. She’s not sure if God cares or if he’s even bloody real. It comes as quite a surprise, then, that she is visited by Metatron aka The Voice of God (Alan Rickman) who tells her that she needs to go on an epic quest to stop two rogue angels – Bartleby (Ben Affleck) and Loki (Matt Damon) – from entering a New Jersey church and undoing all of existence thanks to a loophole known as plenary indulgence (it makes sense in the movie, honest). To help her on her quest, Bethany links up with unlikely prophets Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Kevin Smith), Rufus the Thirteenth Apostle (Chris Rock) and seductive muse Serendipity (Salma Hayek). She’ll need all the help she can get, as she’s up against a malevolent demon Azrael (Jason Lee), three Stygian triplets (aka hockey themed sub-demons), the Golgothan (an Excremental or “shit demon”) and the fact that God himself seems to be missing!
It’s funny watching Dogma all these years later. To be honest, when first viewing it in 1999, your humble scribe (a devout Kevin Smith acolyte at the time, it should be noted) wasn’t blown away. The script seemed a little too schmaltzy and God-bothery. Seen in 2025, both of those observations are still true, but there’s a lot to like about the film. It’s an earnest exploration of faith written by a talented bloke who wears his heart on his sleeve. Yes, some of the dialogue is a little mawkish and overwritten but there are also plenty of trenchant observations and thoughtful ruminations on the nature of faith and what it all means. The cast (mostly) do excellent work with Alan Rickman making the most of his relatively small part and the duo of Affleck and Damon charming as always. Linda Fiorentino seems a bit unsure and baffled by what she’s saying some of the time, but it oddly works for the character, and she bounces off a very funny Jason Mewes surprisingly well. Plus, George Carlin’s small but hilarious role as Cardinal Glick is a must watch.
It’s not all a revelation, mind you. Smith once again proves that he is a far better writer than a director and some of the more potentially visually arresting sequences are either filmed flatly or take place off camera entirely. It also runs about 10-15 minutes too long, and the pacing is uneven, particularly in the first half. Still, for all its late ‘90s dodginess, there’s an undeniable scrappy charm here as a loquacious, filthy mouthed lad with a good heart wrestles with notions of eternity and responsibility.
Dogma is imperfect but unique, a quintessentially ‘90s offering that manages to charm its way into your heart, warts and all.
The Extras:
A holy grail’s worth of extras here. There are three audio commentaries, one with writer/director Kevin Smith, actors Ben Affleck, Jason Lee, Jason Mewes, producer Scott Mosier, and View Askew Historian Vincent Pereira (with optional video hijinks), a second with Smith, producer Scott Mosier, and View Askew historian Vincent Pereira and a brand new third with film critic Witney Siebold.
There’s Scenes from the Apocalypse: On the Set of Dogma, an unreleased 2006 PSP Introduction by Kevin Smith, 25th Anniversary Screening Q&A with Kevin Smith and Judge Not: In Defence of Dogma documentary that digs into how the Catholic church arced up about the film all those years ago.
As longtime fans of Smith will know, the bloke’s true gift is banging on about this and that, so it’s no surprise that one of the highlights is the feature length 2025 Interview with Writer/Director Kevin Smith – which is full of genuinely witty banter and sober reflection – and the 2025 Interview with Actor Jason Mewes – where Jay himself gets frank and grateful about his heterosexual life partner and overcoming addiction. There are also legacy interviews, outtakes, deleted scenes, trailers and various other bits and bobs.
If you happen to have the dosh to spring for the fancy Collector’s Edition, you’ll also be treated to a 100+ page hardback with essays, behind the scenes gear and the original production diary by Smitty. There’s a gorgeous stained glass slipcase by Lucas Peverill, a huge rigid case, 8 artcards and a big arse reversible poster. Basically, this is the feature-rich Dogma collection fans have been praying for since 1999.
Verdict:
Emerging from the dank Weinstein subbasement, Dogma’s second coming encompasses a gorgeous 4K print, generous extras and a sacrilegiously beautiful package. The film itself remains an imperfect but heartfelt dissection of faith and belief with a stacked cast of legends and plenty of laughs to be had.
It may not be Smith’s best film (that will almost certainly always be Clerks), but it’s his most unique and personal and remains a striking vision all these years later. Hallelujah!
