Casey's already seen it and was less than impressed, so I thought I'd chime in with my thoughts.
In a nutshell, it was ridiculously bloody, and that added no value whatsoever. Is Mel Gibson trying to shame us into truly appreciating Jesus' suffering (if you even believe in this sort of thing)?
I probably wouldn't have picked up on this if it hadn't been pointed out, but it seems blindingly obvious now that if you don't already know how the story goes, you won't have any clue who anyone is in this movie. You'll know Jesus and probably Mary. You'll see there are some priests and a Roman guy, a whole bunch of soldiers, and maybe a vague notion of some Apostles.
I wouldn't say I hated the movie. You can't exactly like a movie this gory. I'll say that I didn't appreciate it. I'll admit I was biased against it by the controversy surrounding it and Mel Gibson, and by my personal opinion on Christianity. But, I didn't get anything out of it. There wasn't even a "now that's an interesting way of looking at it" moment anywhere.
Don't waste your money. I'm glad I didn't spend my money on it, but I would like my time back. I could have had some more beer.