Dogma [Movie] Review
Just watched Dogma yesterday after receiving a recommendation from a friend and I just have to say - Christians had it so easy if this is what a supposedly offensive piece of cinema is towards their beliefs. I will not be getting into spoilers of any kind as I am not a believer in knowing absolutely anything about whatever you're watching before getting into it headfirst, whether that be movie, show, book, comic, anything. For me and especially for you. I will not be complicit in spoiler-providing, find your own.
I generally rate movies based on their listed categories, the ones included on IMDb at least, which are the following:
As far as the adventure genre requirements go, this movie has it all. Road trip, violence, quest. That's all I'm going to mention. The adventure is more like the setting of the movie, the details are in the comedy and drama but the adventure still provides much fun and sets up the rest.
I feel conflicted about putting 4 stars instead of 5, frankly the only reason why I took a star off is because I didn't laugh out loud as much as I'd have liked to but at the same time - setting matters. Watching this on my PC with a friend through discord VS watching this at the cinema sometimes affects the giggles mood. The comedy is good. Incredibly good for its' time. Utilizing christian mythology and discourse to set up witty jokes that feel familiar but also refreshing. It established interesting characters with well-built moral structures, personalities and motivations that are fun to watch interact. There are gay jokes - yes, gay jokes - that aren't distasteful! And overall the jokes were almost never at the expense of christianity itself - more on organized religion and some types of christians. The quality of the comedy was good enough to consistently keep me entertained and violently noise-exhaling and giggling throughout the whole thing.
So while the drama wasn't intense and ever-present, the moments and undertones that were guided by it were very, VERY good. The interesting nature of the fallen angels, the journey of our female protagonist, her mental state throughout and ultimately the actions she chose to take definitely fell heavy on the heart for me - in a good way! The treatment of god was also very heartwarming and almost healing for someone like me who has quite the religious trauma baggage like many others have as well.
Overall I think this was a really pleasant experience that both religious trauma-survivors but also christians with a sense of humour can enjoy, and I definitely recommend it.