Cert 15

The plot: This ensemble satirical/religious/fantasy/comedy/drama/road movie/adventure features an array of celestial beings caught up in a deeply complicated good-versus-evil-with-mankind-under-threat situation. There's Affleck and Damon as renegade angels who have been exiled from Heaven for eternity by God for not playing by the rules. But they stumble across a loophole in Catholic dogma which will allow them to return to heaven by the backdoor. Only trouble is, if they succeed, God will have been shown to be fallible and existence will come to an end. So it's up to all-too human abortion clinic worker Bethany (Fiorentino) to stop them and save mankind. Quite why it's up to her, and exactly how she's supposed to stop them is what the film is all about.

What's good about it? It's quite unlike any film you've ever seen. But in a good way. Mixing Kevin (Clerks, Chasing Amy) Smith's charming and witty rapid-fire dialogue with an underlying philosophical enquiry into the nature of faith, it manages to be flat-out funny and simultaneously thought-provoking. The fantastic cast are all on fine form, particularly Affleck and Damon bouncing off each other in superb style and Jason "Jay" Mewes who gets most of the film's best one-liners and delivers them with aplomb. But perhaps most suprising of all is the climactic appearance of a certain warbling Canadian songstress as the Supreme Being, who manages to be warmly amusing without uttering a word. And it's that final scene which elevates the film to the level of something special, uniting all the characters, tying up all the plot threads and sending you out of the cinema with a massive grin on your face and a warm glow inside - even if you're a confirmed non-believer.

What's bad about it? Everyone spends a of the time asking, or else explaining, what's going on. Some will find it far too wordy, too preachy with too many characters and not enough visual finesse, but that's really Kevin Smith's thing. Dogma is all about the characters, what they have to say and how they fit in to the complicated scheme of things. If you go with the flow, these apparent negatives soon melt away.

Length: 125 minutes.

Verdict: Dogma is a rare thing - a hugely ambitious and funny film, patently from the heart. A late contender for comedy of the year. **** Boyd Hilton