Kevin
Smith has one real talent and he exploits it to the fullest. That
talent is his own imagination and perspective on popular culture. He
brings this imaginative and insightful style into each project he
works on, and even when the project is bad (MALLRATS), the film still
shines during certain moments when a funny or clever idea hiccups up
to the surface. However, it appears that in all other respects,
Smith is still an amateur, especially when it comes to directing and
as a screenwriter he has a hard time harnessing all his wonderful
observations into anything of great substance. DOGMA is yet another
clunky work by Kevin Smith has it's share of moments but is defeated
by it's own excess baggage.
The story deals with a supposed distant relative of Jesus Christ himself, who is a sort-of Chosen One designated to stop two renegade (and banished from heaven) angels from entering a church, thus restoring their souls and re-entering Heaven. The problem is that if they are successful they will destroy the universe and everything in it since it is in direct violation of God's Will and God is supposed to be infallible.
Never mind
the fact that DOGMA is biblically inaccurate or that Catholics may
find it unintentionally offensive to their beliefs, this film is
watchable only for a few funny scenes and nothing more. As a story,
it's an interesting idea, but very poorly conceived characters and
situations galore take the legs out from under the screenplay and the
film flops around like a fish on dry land, gasping desperately for
life before ultimately dying a painful and pathetic death about a
half hour before the film's too-long-in-coming ending. For every
funny observation, there are several that are painfully unfunny, and
recurring jokes such as the fact that angels cannot imbibe alcohol
are D.O.A. It's a real shame that Kevin Smith developed such an avid
following after CLERKS that he is given almost free reign to do what
he wills, because had this been the work of a nobody, it probably
would have been rejected until it was made into a better film. The
double-edged sword of Smith's sense of humor...he can be very funny,
hilarious even, but he can also be horrible. Hopefully Smith learns
the difference before he kills his promising career.
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