We finally get to celebrate the 25th anniversary of one of Kevin Smith’s greatest films… Dogma. Well, maybe not the 25th anniversary, more like the 26th anniversary. That doesn’t matter because the most important thing is Kevin Smith was allowed to get the rights back to his own film after being owned by Harvey Weinstein. The saga behind the Weinstein Company owning Dogma is a story unto itself. When Harvey Weinstein went to prison and his former film company filed for bankruptcy and then an indie studio Lantern Entertainment bought the rights to most of the films including Dogma. The film rights remained in purgatory which affected streaming rights, re-releases, and Blu-ray sales. If you were lucky enough to own a DVD or even VHS, that was about the only weigh one could watch Dogma. Or maybe some bootleg copies that ended up on YouTube. But like most films that get a Blu-Ray or a 4K upgrade, this didn’t happen for Dogma unlike other Kevin Smith films, which was sad considering this movie was probably the most popular of his film collection next to his first one, Clerks. And the fact that we didn’t even get to actually celebrate the 20th and 25th anniversary of the film made this story even more tragic. So here we are celebrating the 25th anniversary, 2 years late! But it’s the first time that fans have gotten to see this movie on the big screen since 1999. For me I’m excited because this was actually the first Kevin Smith movie that I did see in the theater and having to weigh 27 years to see my favorite Kevin Smith film on the big screen has been a tall order.
I wasn’t a film critic in 1999. Just a college kid who loved to talk about movies and I’ve had many conversations about Dogma, especially why it’s my favorite Kevin Smith movie. I have to admit, for me it’s not his best written movie… that would be Chasing Amy. Dogma is my absolute favorite because it’s really a feel-good religious movie masquerading as a satire. Beneath all of the religious jokes and mocking of religion lies beneath this wonderful feel good movie about faith. But it’s not the kind of movie you’re going to see on Angel Studios or PureFlex. It’s not poking fun at a specific group or gender or race by being discriminatory through its humor. It’s still a story of underdogs who are the most unlikely of characters who become heroes… it’s just not a conventional heroes story. After all, only Kevin Smith would write a hero story where Jay and silent Bob could be prophets. But my favorite thing about this movie is that it shows there is no loophole when it comes to good and evil. You don’t find a loophole when it comes to morality and that’s what the characters of Loki and Bartleby are trying to do.
Sure they’re being influenced by a demon who’s just an extension of Lucifer, but what Kevin Smith is saying in this film despite what your faith or religion may be is that good and evil only exists Because there’s no easy way out or loopholes like in a movie of two fallen angels are who find one to get back into heaven. However, human beings think there’s an easy way when it comes to good and evil, and morality especially religious leaders. I think that’s what Kevin Smith was always mocking with this movie. Through Satire there is always a morality lesson for the audience. It’s just easier to accept through humor. That’s how I look at the movie. I still consider it a fee good movie and would love a sequel.
So now we have a 4K version. And it looks great. Having watched the movie for the first time in many years, The quality is a lot better, the sound is a lot better, and even though it may not have needed a 4K restoration, I’m glad somebody did it because this is a movie that deserves to have the best quality when viewing it. There’s also a sense of nostalgia going back and seeing some young and up-and-coming actors. Matt Damon and Ben Affleck had only recently gained popularity after winning the Oscar for best original screenplay with Good Will Hunting. They still had budding careers ahead of them. Salma Hayek was still relatively unknown even though she had gained popularity from Desperado. And up to that point, Alan Rickman was still pretty much known as the bad guy from Die Hard even though he had been in a lot of stuff in Britain and America. This is before the Harry Potter movies really made Alan Rickman popular. How Kevin Smith got him for this movie, I don’t know, but it certainly added a lot of credibility to the film and even though he only had a few scenes, they made the film. He had that kind of star power we’re just a few scenes can make the entire film worth watching. To this day it’s still not one of Kevin Smith’s most profitable films. In fact I think it took a loss at the box office, but gained more popularity with religious groups especially Catholics protesting the movie. And despite the fact that Harvey Weinstein is a despicable human being, he did finance a lot of great movies… he knew how to pick them. So he at least deserves a small thank you for helping get this movie made, But not so much when it comes to his former film company having the rights.
There are other movies that mock religion, but I don’t think they do it in such a clever way and with a great cast. To me Dogma is still the best religious satire, but also a heartwarming story. The best outcome is that Kevin Smith has the rights to the film again and we get to enjoy a re-release that should happen long ago. But all good things to those who wait, right!! And if there is anyone of his movies that’s ripe for a sequel, it’s certainly Dogma. Clerks 2 is a good sequel, But I think a sequel to Dogma would be even better. The world needs a new religious satire for a new generation especially for those who get offended so easily. It seems like there’s more people that get offended by the stupidest of things and can’t understand how satire works. Personally I think they need to watch the film Dogma and if they are still offended then, well then that’s undeniable evidence that they’re the problem and need help. And if nothing else it would be fun to visit all of these characters again. But before we get a sequel, let’s revel in the genius that is the movie Dogma. So happy 25th anniversary or 26th anniversary… that doesn’t really matter because Kevin Smith owns his film again. More importantly we get to enjoy it on the big screen one more and in 4K, the way it was meant to be. Now as a critic that didn’t get to review it back in 1999, what’s my final grade of the movie… the nostalgia in me says a 9, but the critic in me says an 8. Either way it’s still a pretty damn good movie!
