Luna, I spoke last night with one of my neighbors who had just seen the film. She is what I would call a Christian/Free Thinker. Some might find that description a contradiction in terms, but it works for me. I'm pretty much that way myself.
Anyway, she had some outstanding thoughts on the film and I'll do my best to mention them as she did.
Although she didn't go to the film thinking that it would change her life, she hoped to gain some new insights into her faith so I would say she attended with a very open mind. The first thing she said was that it was possibly one of the most violent films she's ever seen...and she sees a LOT of movies. She kept thinking during the movie that the way folks like Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell are so rabid about Hollywood movies and so vocal in condemning films like Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill, and other such violent and bloody depictions, that they should absolutely be squirming uncontrollably by what's presented in this movie.
Of course if you said that to them, they'd probably argue that it's completely different because it actually happened. That doesn't really fly though because other movies that depict true stories (she mentioned Saving Private Ryan for instance) actually happened too - and those things happened to people who have actually told the story that is recreated. The Bible - though accurate by the beliefs of many - is still something that cannot be supported by actual facts that could be presented to a film maker by people who lived it. In other words, this film - though based on what many people believe is historically true - is simply a movie interpreted by a film maker.
She thought that the film actually did a disserve to Christians by not continuing the story further. Although it may have been a fairly accurate depiction of the last hours of Jesus, what makes Christians hopeful and faithful is what happened afterwards when Jesus returned and instead of the film giving us the resurrection which is the most impressive part of the gospel, it just...didn't. The film, to her, was far too lengthy and gore-filled (boring in parts, she said) with almost no uplifting parts to redeem itself. Many movies have failed by being 100% bleak and more should have been included to develop the characters more humanely and with more joy.
Although I've been looking forward to the movie and still plan to go, I'm afraid that based on what I've heard so far, it may not match my expectations. We'll see. It is after all, just a movie.
-frolix