“Dogma” got dogged by Catholics, forcing Miramax to drop the picture from its distribution list. As a subsidiary of Disney, Miramax feared another boycott by angry religious folks. Canadian distribution company, Lion’s Gate picked up the film and released it Nov. 12 to American audiences.

The Catholics boycotting the film hadn’t even seen the film and were angry and, ultimately, overreacting. At this point, the only people that should be angry are the officials as Miramax/Disney who let the film go.

“Dogma” is director/writer/actor, Kevin Smith’s fourth major film. Already under Smith’s comedic belt are “Clerks,” “Mallrats” and “Chasing Amy.”

All four films feature the duo of Jay and Silent Bob. Silent Bob is played by Smith himself, while Jay is played by Smith’s real-life buddy, Jason Mewes. Jay and Silent Bob play a major role in “Dogma,” which is just one of the many reasons while “Dogma” is Smith’s best picture yet.

“Dogma” is not anything like his other three feature films, though there are obvious elements that run through all of them.

The combination of a good, original story and a great ensemble cast makes for a completely enjoyable film. The cast includes Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Chris Rock, George Carlin, Linda Fiorentino and Salma Hayek.

Great casts do not always equal great films (look at “Mars Attacks”), but in this case, it does.

The premise is that Fiorentino (”Men in Black,” “Last Seduction”) plays Bethany, the last descendant of Jesus. Bethany is forced to stop two renegade angels (played by Affleck and Damon) from re-entering heaven after they find a loophole that can get them readmitted through a church in the home of Springsteen, Bon Jovi and, of course, Smith himself. Bethany’s only help comes in the form of the not-so dynamic duo of Jay and Silent Bob, a pair who has alsobeen fan favorites in Smith’s other flicks, Clerks, Mallrats and Chasing Amy.

Rock also assists. He is great as Rufus, the thirteenth apostle, who’s campaigning to get the Bible rewritten to include his presence, which he claims was ignored because he was black.

Damon and Fiorentino give the best performances, which are both convincingly sincere, and enjoyable.

Smith is known for his love of comic books, which carries over into “Dogma,” with its epic-quest-type story and the crossovers that refer to his other films, a common occurrence in the pages of comics.

There’s very little to criticize, though God being played by miss Canadian angst herself, Alanis Morissette, was disappointing and pretty dumb. Half the audience groaned, and half the audience laughed upon her appearance. But at least her part is less than five minutes long.

The biggest tragedy, and really the only thing that should upset people is the fact that the film isn’t in more theaters, though “Dogma” is Smith’s widest release yet, and rightfully so.

Originally posted at NandoNext.