Your imagination is really needed here. But imagine if you will that God sends down the angel Metatron(Alan Rickman) to convince a divorced, non-practicing Catholic woman, Bethany, (played by Linda Fiorentino)that she must stop two fallen angels, Loki (Matt Damon) and Bartleby (Ben Affleck) from attending a church centennial in New Jersey. If these two fallen angels (who were banished to Wisconsin centuries ago), manage to walk through the arch of the church on its centennial, they will both return to heaven, upsurp God's Almighty Power and thereby negate the entire universe (in effect nothing will exist anymore).

Not an easy pill to swallow, Bethany believes she is dreaming the whole thing, until she meets Jay and Silent Bob, two would be prophets that were sent down to help her on this quest. Jay,(Jason Mewes), a young, sexually obsessed male, is continually trying to sleep with Bethany, while Silent Bob (Kevin Smith),is the quiet protector type.

As the would be prophets journey begins, several of heaven's helpers join them. Rufus, (Chris Rock) is the disgruntled "thirteenth" apostle, not mentioned in the Bible (he says it is because he is black), and Serendipity
(Salma Hayek) a muse that provides her assistance at the most needed of times.

Of course, Loki and Bartleby do get wind of the situation, and recruit the help of a hotheaded demon (played by Jason Lee). The demon fumbles several times in capturing the group, but eventually, he detains them in New Jersey at the precise moment the fallen angels arrive at the church. All hell breaks loose (pun intended) and with the help of Serendipity and Silent Bob, the group escapes to go and save the day. At the last possible moment, God shows up and sets everything right with the world once again.

Director Kevin Smith's controversial film was released in 1999 and really depicts the incredible imagination and creativity of the director. Smith has previously written and directed three movies "Clerks", "Mallrats", "Chasing Amy". The movie Dogma takes his storytelling style to a new domain: a fantastical view of celestial beings and what would happen when their world collides with human beings.

I had read that Smith wrote Dogma around the same time of his first feature film, "Clerks," when a personal moment of doubt led to a monumental comedy about heaven and earth and the funny things that happen between the two. He was hesitant to direct and release Dogma until he felt the moment was right. Kevin Smith has said this movie isn't his personal statement on religion, it is only supposed to make people laugh.

There is a significant amount of foul language, sexual content and violence, so I would not recommend this movie be viewed by children of any age. I am sure that there are a number of people who might take offense at this film's comical view of the Catholic faith, so logically, this movie isn't for everyone.

Dogma is rated R and is a little over one and a half hours long. While it isn't the best movie out there, this one is worth watching.

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Better than Watching TV
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age