Well, I saw this on Friday night, and I have mixed feelings about it. I'll try to make my quasi-review as concises as possible.
The violence:
You know, I actually expected worse than what I saw. That said, the violence is extraordinary; the infamous flogging scene seems interminable, and it likes to make you think that it's over, just before I moves on to a more horrible phase. During the Crucifixion scene, every hammer blow seemed palpable. Needless to say, I winced during this film. A lot.
What I liked:
The settings and visuals are great, though I have to admit that slow-mo was used a little too often. Still, I think there are many images of real cinematic power here. I'm not religious, but I have a more than a passing familiarity with the story; I must admit that I was often deeply moved. Particularly effective were the flashbacks that highlighted Jesus the man rather than Jesus the Messiah, and the scenes highlighting the love of Mary for her son.
I also liked the use of language, and think that the decision to use Aramaic and Latin was a stroke of brilliance. However, subtitles definitely help. As an aside, the Latin pronunciation comes out sounding more like that of Italian than classical Latin, but one can only expect so much when reconstructing a dead language that no one today has ever heard spoken in a conversational context by native speakers.
What I didn't like:
I felt strangely disconnected from the action during this movie, between the times I was absorbed in it. Maybe it was because I wasn't religious, but I think it was at least as much because the story feels much too truncated. There is almost zero exposition. The movie assumes you know everything about the traditional Passion story upon entry. Many people do, but many do not, and I think this film does them a disservice.
Personally, I think the film would have been better if it had at least included the Last Supper, which would have allowed for more exposition and more suspense, IMO.
Also, though some of the flashbacks were moving and effective, there were others that I felt added little real substance to the film, and that seemed almost like propagandistic sound bites. I often felt manipulated by the film, which I'm sure was Mel Gibson's intent; nonetheless, I would have liked the film to present itself more naturally to the viewer rather than force itself upon him/her.
About the anti-Semitism:
I have mixed feelings about this as well. I did not see the film as explicitly anti-Semitic. Then again, I'm not Jewish, and I don't know how a Jew would feel watching this film. I also concede that the portrait of the Jews is wholly unflattering, and occasionally borders on bestial; I don't think I've ever seen a more fanatically vicious group of Pharisees depicted, to say nothing of the bloodthirsty mob or the soldiers that arrest Jesus. I didn't really notice the supposed Jewish stereotypical phenotype that some people have mentioned (dark hair, big-nosed, etc.), but as I said before, I'm not Jewish.
So, to basically echo what other critics have said, even though I don't see the film as explicitly anti-Semitic, people who are already anti-Semitic or who have slightly negative views of Jews already may have their views strengthened by this film.
Overall Conclusion:
This is a masterfully-done, but also unrepentantly didactic film. I recommend it for its artistic qualities and to just judge for yourself, but one must always be aware of the agenda behind the film that I think devalues what could have been a truly great work. If you want to see a truly stellar movie about the *life* as opposed to just the death of Jesus, go for The Last Temptation of Christ, which a superior and more moving film with but a fraction of the blood, IMO.
On a scale of 1 to 5, with five being the highest, I'd give it a 3 1/2.