Leanne and I took her parents to see "Passion of The Christ" today. After seeing the movie, I'm left wondering how much of the outrage around this movie is real outrage and how much of it started as just a publicity stunt.
There seem to be two major gripes going around about this movie: the graphic violence, and the way that the Jews are depicted. Really, if you think that either of those are Mel Gibson's fault, I'd like to suggest that you read the books that his screenplay is based on. Gibson's screenplay is certainly graphic, so is the Bible. Gibson certainly doesn't hide blame from the Jews, neither does the Bible. That's not to say that Gibson plants the blame on the Jews alone. In fact, I'd say that if anything, the role of the priests is minimized in the movie.
It certainly wasn't the kind of movie that I'm going to let Natalie see until she's really mature enough to understand why everything happened like it did. But it is the kind of movie that I'd like to go back and see again for myself.
In summary, if you liked the book, you'll probably like the movie.