I wrote a review of The Passion of the Christ when it first came out.

The Passion of the Plastic Baby Jesus

And just for the sake of completeness, here's a short essay I wrote about Mr. Gibson about the same time as The Passion of the Christ came out.

A Homeland for Mel Gibson

...
It's also the first time in my life I've understood Warren Beatty's on-screen charisma: never had seen him as a young actor before and he was good-looking in a non-standard, almost un-Hollywood way - and also in great shape in a way not so common at that time, when it wasn't routine for actors to hit the gym regularly.
...