The latest battle in the eternal war between Good and Evil has come to New Jersey in the late, late 20th Century. Angels, demons, apostles and prophets (of a sort) walk among the cynics and innocents of America and duke it out for the fate of humankind.
A fresh premise gradually turns stale, and jokes that start out lively end up pooped.
– Rick Groen,
Globe and Mail,
19 Mar 2002
rotten:
Too talky, too fond of in-jokes, too caught up (especially during the dismally weak climax) in its crass comic-strip ethos, and not, finally, as funny, subversive or thought-provoking as it would like to be.
– Geoff Andrew,
Time Out,
26 Jan 2006
rotten:
Dogma is more strained than funny.
– Andrew Sarris,
New York Observer,
27 Apr 2007
rotten:
I couldn't care less whether Smith's metaphysical conceits about the war between Good and Evil are those of a devout believer or an atheist. The bottom line is that they're puerile.
– Jonathan Rosenbaum,
Chicago Reader,
19 Mar 2008
rotten:
A very vulgar pro-faith comedy rather than a sacrilegious goof, Dogma is an extraordinarily uneven film that significant cutting might be able to transform into a playable one.