47
Metascore
44 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertThis is not a sermon or a homily, but a visualization of the central event in the Christian religion. Take it or leave it.
- 80VarietyTodd McCarthyVarietyTodd McCarthyIf an age produces the renditions of classic stories that reflect those times, then The Passion of the Christ, which is violent, contentious, emotional, extreme and highly proficient, must be the Jesus movie for this era.
- 80TimeRichard CorlissTimeRichard CorlissA serious, handsome, excruciating film that radiates total commitment.
- 75Rolling StonePeter TraversRolling StonePeter TraversPowerfully moving and fanatically obtuse in equal doses. The typical star rating doesn't apply, because scenes range from classic to poor and all stops in between.
- 63Boston GlobeTy BurrBoston GlobeTy BurrSeems to be exactly the movie Mel Gibson wanted to make as an abiding profession of his traditionalist Catholic faith. On that score it is a success.
- 63Chicago TribuneMichael WilmingtonChicago TribuneMichael WilmingtonMore spirit and grace and less blood and guts may be what Passion needs.
- 50The Hollywood ReporterKirk HoneycuttThe Hollywood ReporterKirk HoneycuttGibson's intense concentration on the scourging and whipping of the physical body virtually denies any metaphysical significance to the most famous half-day in history.
- 50NewsweekDavid AnsenNewsweekDavid AnsenInstead of being moved by Christ's suffering, or awed by his sacrifice, I felt abused by a filmmaker intent on punishing an audience, for who knows what sins.
- 40New York Magazine (Vulture)Peter RainerNew York Magazine (Vulture)Peter RainerIt isn't just the violence that is overplayed. There is so much creepy-Gothic Sturm und Drang in The Passion that at times it seems as if Clive Barker should get credit for the story along with Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
- 30The New YorkerDavid DenbyThe New YorkerDavid DenbyBy embracing the Roman pageant so openly, using all the emotional resources of cinema, Gibson has cancelled out the redemptive and transfiguring power of art. [1 March 2004, p. 84]