Dogma

Dogma

Imaginative theology and a bigger-than-usual budget make Kevin Smith's (CHASING AMY, CLERKS) fourth film a kind of post-Catholic fantasy that only a comic-book enthusiast of his caliber could dream up. It concerns banished angels, Loki (Matt Damon) and Bartleby (Ben Affleck) who, after a few millennia in Wisconsin, discover a loophole in Catholic doctrine that would allow them back into heaven--but prove the fallibility of God and destroy the universe. As they make their way to New Jersey to receive a plenary indulgence, God dispatches 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, played by Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith respectively), 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. Smith's controversial (and very funny) film is powered by his trademark dialogue, ripe with observations on pop culture, religion, and bodily functions.