[Gibson's] film, virtually stripped of Jesus's incandescent views, is little more that a record of one of the thousands of barbarities committed by the Romans in Judea.
... can be read both as a literal illustration of the story of Christ's suffering at the hands of the Roman... and an anti-authoritarian tract that questions the very assumptions of guilt and blame that many take for granted the film shares.
The film's lack of discretion robs the viewer of his or own conception of Christ's crucifixion. It is an exploitative disservice to "the greatest story ever told," that reduces that illustrious narrative to an extended torture episode.