A Cult Classic That Feels Strangely Current

Read Time:6 Minute, 21 Second

MOVIE REVIEW
Dogma 4K
–

Genre: Comedy, Fantasy, Satire
Year Released: 1999, Lionsgate 4K 2025
Runtime: 2h 10m
Director(s): Kevin Smith
Writer(s): Kevin Smith
Cast: Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Linda Fiorentino, Salma Hayek, Alan Rickman, Chris Rock
Where to Watch: standard 4K, available here: www.amazon.com, steelbook available now (sold out until January 2026): order your copy here: www.lionsgatelimited.com

RAVING REVIEW: DOGMA is, without question, my favorite Kevin Smith film. I can’t help but be biased, but I feel like the film is nearly perfect in almost every way. The release limbo that the film has been in has caused a ton of chaos in the collector community. The 25th-anniversary 4K UHD release is more than a format upgrade; it’s a reintroduction to a movie that predicted a cultural collision between spirituality and organized extremism long before it defined mainstream discourse. Comedy rarely stays relevant for twenty-five years. This one did because its target isn’t belief—it’s the machinery built around belief and the complacency that follows.

DOGMA is a comedy built like a theological argument disguised as a road movie. Its structure is simple: two exiled angels, Bartleby and Loki, locate a doctrinal loophole that could let them back into Heaven. If they succeed, they prove God wrong and end existence. That’s the hook, but the film’s value is in how it debates guilt, identity, and free will through characters who never stop. Smith weaponizes monologues the way other directors use action sequences. Scenes allow arguments to unfold like late-night conversations, where logic bends, and clarity arrives through humor rather than preaching.

Alan Rickman’s performance as Metatron is one of the key reasons it works. He approaches the material with absolute confidence that comedy can address faith without cheap shots. His tone is dry, exhausted, and affectionate. He’s playing the voice of God as someone who has been answering the same questions for centuries, and he’s tired of explaining the obvious to mortals who don’t listen. Rickman brings gravity to chaos, allowing Ben Affleck and Matt Damon to push their characters toward a strangely tragic dimension. What starts as an irreverent setup turns into a story about broken loyalty.

The film’s ensemble is one of the strongest of its era in comedy. Linda Fiorentino gives Bethany a strength that balances the absurdity around her. Chris Rock, Salma Hayek, Jason Lee, and Jason Mewes all get space to define their own corner of the film. DOGMA doesn’t chase star power—it uses personalities with precision. The dialogue rewards performers who can shift between sarcasm and genuine reflection without pausing. Even as Jay and Silent Bob deliver their jokes, they never feel disconnected from the questions the film raises. And offer up one of the most potent lines about women's autonomy and abortion clinics in any movie.

What makes DOGMA resonate today is how intensely it cares about the subject it’s mocking. Smith is not angry at believers; he’s angry at institutions built on fear, branding, and false certainty. The infamous “Buddy Christ” statue is the perfect image for the movie’s thesis: a smiling mascot version of religion designed to avoid discomfort rather than confront reality. DOGMA argues that spiritual belief, if it has value, should be uncomfortable at times—and it shouldn’t require unquestioning loyalty to flawed systems. The film may be satirical, but its emotional side is quiet: people want meaning, even if they don’t know how to pursue it within structures designed to control.

The new 4K UHD release restores a film that has been inaccessible for far too long. Seeing DOGMA at its best emphasizes how ambitious it was visually compared to Smith’s earlier work. Robert Yeoman’s cinematography, rarely discussed when dissecting the film, employs a stylized realism that grounds the mythology without relying on chaos for chaos's sake. The restoration enhances texture rather than modernizing the look, which fits a film that was always more about dialogue than spectacle.

More importantly, this anniversary edition celebrates the film’s cultural history. The inclusion of legacy features such as the full commentary tracks, deleted scenes, the 2001 documentary “Judge Not,” and the new “Revelations” making-of provides context for the creative process. Smith, Affleck, and Damon were at a point in their careers where fearlessness actually felt possible. They were making their arguments through comedy, knowing criticism would be loud. You can hear that energy in the commentary, where nothing feels cautious or strategized.

Comedy of this era often aged poorly due to overreliance on caricature or shock value. DOGMA didn’t use either. It used irrelevance to force uncomfortable ideas into casual conversations. The film treats belief systems the way good philosophy classes do: insist on the question, not the answer. For a movie that features a demon made of poo and a sequence involving the best portrayal of “god” ever put to film, it’s shockingly mature about why faith exists at all. Smith wanted audiences to question the distinction between dogma and spirituality, and he did so without being condescending or cruel.

Reflecting on DOGMA today also means acknowledging the absurdity of its near-absence from accessible distribution for decades. The fact that a modern audience can finally own it in pristine quality feels like a correction. Physical media, which the film now arrives on again, represents control by creators and collectors rather than licensing purgatory. This edition, especially with the inclusion of “Dogma: Revelations of the Easily Offended,” positions the film as something worth preserving, debating, and rediscovering. It feels like cinema reclaiming a conversation that was paused.

DOGMA stands as Kevin Smith’s most complete execution of everything that defines his style: dense dialogue, self-aware humor, arguments that unfold like action scenes, and a willingness to defend an idea through comedy rather than hide behind it. The 4K release finally gives the film the preservation it earned, and its timing couldn’t be better. The world it enters now is louder, more reactive, and somehow even more broken and willing to label disagreement as offense. DOGMA thrived in that tension twenty-five years ago; today, it feels strangely prophetic.

Please visit https://linktr.ee/overlyhonestr for more reviews.

You can follow me on Letterboxd, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. My social media accounts are also available on most platforms by searching for 'Overly Honest Reviews'.

I’m always happy to hear from my readers; please don't hesitate to say hello or send me any questions about movies.

[photo courtesy of LIONSGATE]

DISCLAIMER:
At Overly Honest Movie Reviews, we value honesty and transparency. Occasionally, we receive complimentary items for review, including DVDs, Blu-rays, CDs, Vinyl Records, Books, and more. We assure you that these arrangements do not influence our reviews; we are committed to providing unbiased, honest evaluations. We aim to help you make informed entertainment choices regardless of our relationship with distributors or producers.

Amazon Affiliate Links:
Additionally, this site contains Amazon affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, we may receive a commission. This affiliate arrangement does not affect our commitment to honest reviews and helps support our site. We appreciate your trust and support as we navigate these links.