Blu-ray Review: Dogma

THE MOVIE: 4 stars out of 5

Dogma is a comedy about two banished angels who find a loophole that can get them back into heaven. However, should they do so, they will prove God to be capable of error which would somehow end existence. God is incapable of stopping them as he (or she!) is kept in a coma in a Red Bank New Jersey hospital by a demon who is seeking the end of all existence. The Voice of God steps in an appoints a cynical abortion rights counselor to travel to New Jersey and stop the angles from entering the church and saving all existence.

Dogma stars Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Alan Rickman, Chris Rock, Kevin Smith, Salma Hayek, Linda Fiorentino and George Carlin and is a very funny movie which both pokes fun at religion with strong positive religious overtones as well. In my opinion, it is by far the best of Kevin Smith’s films and well worth a look. Recommended.

THE VIDEO: 4 1/3 stars out of 5

This is a very nice transfer from SPHE and is a huge improvement over the DVD release. The transfer boasts very accurate colors albeit a little on the muted side. Black levels while solid are are not as deep as I would like, robbing the film of the depth that is the hallmark of the best transfers. Detail is good as well although I have seen better recently. Clarity is also good but falls short of the looking through the window effect of the best transfers. All in all, this is a very pleasing transfer that falls just a hair short in a few but very significant categories. With a tad better blacks, detail and color level, this would have been an excellent transfer. For now, this transfer will have to do.

THE AUDIO: 4 1/3 stars out of 5

The high rez track on this release is presented with Dolby True HD and sounds very good, again, a noticeable improvement over the prior DVD release. The dialogue is crisp and clear and well presented in the sound field. On the down side, I found the overall sound of the dialogue track to be slightly on the thin side, lacking the fullness and weight of the dialogue track on No Country for Old Men which is truly reference in that regard. This thinness is also characteristic of the overall sound of the film as well and is really my only complaint with the sound of this release. The surrounds are used aggressively where appropriate and really add to the sound of the film. Bass response is good as well, packing a real wallop as well. I just wish that the film had a fuller, richer sound. Don’t get me wrong, the sound of the film is good, just not up to the standards set by some of the more recent release, especially those with PCM tracks which are really outstanding sonically.

IN CONCLUSION

Dogma is a funny and thought provoking movie about religion and the Catholic Church in particular with good but not outstanding video and audio. However, it presents a significant improvement over the prior DVD release and well worth a purchase. Recommended.

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