February 24, 2004
Associated Press
Even believers should beware of what they will be seeing in Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ," and not just because of the R rating. If ever a film deserved an NC-17 for extreme violence, here it is (don't take the kids).
A conflation of the Gospels and Gibson's vision of the last 12 hours of Jesus Christ, the gory film has been heavily pre-sold through Christian churches. It was marketed to ministers as "the greatest outreach opportunity in the past 2,000 years," and Gibson, a devout believer but hip to the media, began defending his film even before it was attacked.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/features/20040224-9999-1c24passion.htmlInteresting review... does not give it a good review IMO, however it does not state its bad either. (Note: the Trib is very Conservative).