Count me in as one who did not like it. I would have rather had it deal more with His teachings and less with his violent death.
No doubt his death was as brutal as Mel dipicted it to be. Maybe Mel wanted everone to feel uncomfortable watching his movie.
The movie was called "The Passion of the Christ," not "The Teachings of the Christ." His suffering, death, and subsequent resurrection was the whole point of the movie--Christ's passion. He allowed himself to go through it for us all.
I much prefer the Greatest Story Ever Told.