I had the opportunity to view the film last night, and I'd like to share my reactions.
First, just to get it out of the way, as far as anti-Semitism goes, I think people are going to take from the film what they brought in. If you're already pre-disposed to that kind of thought, you're going to see a crowd of Jews cheering throughout the film for Jesus's torture and crucifixtion. If you're not, it probably won't cross your mind.
I say this with the disclaimer that I'm not a Biblical scholar, so there may be subtleties that I didn't pick up on. But if I didn't, I doubt most folks will either.
I had problems with the film. Because the film focuses almost solely on the last twelve hours of his life, there's no insight into who Jesus was or what he was about. I understand that this was a choice Mel Gibson made, but it's problematic because you're forced to accept from the start that Jim Caviezel is Jesus. Most film have to earn the audience's suspension of disbelief, but this film forces you to accept it, no questions asked.
That's difficult, and it's made more difficult by the overwhelming violence. Actually, it wasn't so much the violence - there's nothing here that's more difficult to watch than BRAVEHEART - it's Gibson's decision to dwell on the violence at almost all times. For example, the scene in which Jesus is getting whipped is shocking and effective at first, but it continues for so long that it takes you out of the film; you become very aware that this is an actor and makeup. Perhaps it's a defense mechanism, given the endless doting on the gore, but it works against the film.
Similarly, the scene that shows Jesus bearing his cross is extremely overlong. There must be half a dozen occasions when Jesus drops the cross and collapses from exhaustion, and every time it's shown in slow motion. It gets to the point where it's almost boring, as much as I hate to say it. It's long been my position that nothing takes you out of a film more than overuse of slow-mo; it's a very self-conscious technique that just doesn't relate to anything in life. The crucifixtion, when it finally arrives, is more of the same. There's several slow-motion shots of blood spurting out of Jesus's hands when he's being nailed to the cross, but by this point I mostly just felt numb to the whole thing.
Sadly, far from reaffirming my faith, as so many conservatives promise it will do, the movie made me realize that mine is mostly gone. Perhaps that explains my jaded view of the film, but I never defined my faith, such as it was, through violence and suffering. Regardless, I think that if I truly accepted Jesus as my Lord and savior, I'd have felt more than I did during this film.
So there it is.