After reading some of these reviews, I expected far worse. However, that said, the film is violent, the Roman soldiers and the Temple guards are both cruel.
I only teared up once, that when Mary went ahead of the crowd to get near Him, and when He fell, she ran to comfort Him. Rather, it was Jesus that extended comfort to Mary, "I make all things new".
That is the total message of the Passion. The punishment that Jesus received was foretold by Isaiah in Chapter 53. Read it again, and it will come more alive.
Through the Victory on the Cross, God provided through Jesus an answer to all of our problems.
He was nailed through for our sins
He was crushed for our evil nature
He was punished to bring us peace.
He was whipped for our healing
In hindsight, I think Mel held back some. Physicians tell us about the agony of the Cruxificion, just to get the next breath. I did not see that.
But what I did see was the selfish nature of mankind, everyone looking out for their own personal interests; Peter with his denial, Pilate with his career, the high priests with their power and position, even Satan, with his influence on the line.
Read Psalms 22,
Read Isaiah 53
Read the account from the 4 Gospels.
Read the Book of John, the one that stood with Mary.
For the Jew, Jesus was the one Isaiah foretold.
For the Gentile, Jesus was the one that opened the door for the reast of mankind.
For believers, for New Testament folks, our lives began at the cross and are renewed by the Resurrection.
Praise God, He lives
Mel has said he inserted "escape hatches" in the form of cinematic devices so that the audience would not be overwhelmed with the violence being done to Christ.
Also, Mel had an artistic vision that he allowed to shine through. I think Mel's artistry makes the film a moving work of art. As was stated above, some of the visual effects could be lifted right onto a canvas.