“The Passion of the Christ” is back. But Mel Gibson’s epic story about the final 12 hours of Jesus Christ’s life will be a less gory, more family-friendly film this time.

“The Passion Recut,” as it is now called, opened yesterday — two weeks before Good Friday — in 500 theaters nationwide.

Jim Caviezel portrays Jesus in The

When the original version opened on Ash Wednesday last year, it had an R rating because of its graphic depiction of a bloody Christ, who is flayed by Roman soldiers after his capture, whipped as he carries his cross through the streets and then dies a slow and agonizing death when he is crucified.

The movie “is the same film in spirit,” Gibson explained in a recent statement. “I have toned down some of the more brutal scenes without removing them or compromising the impact of the film. By softening some of its more wrenching aspects, I hope to make the film and its message of love available to a wider audience.”

After the film’s first release, Gibson said, “I received numerous letters from people all across the country. Many told me they wanted to share the experience with loved ones but were concerned that the harsher images of the film would be too intense for them to bear.”

According to Icon Productions, the company that distributes both “The Passion of the Christ” and “The Passion Recut,” the film has been edited to bring it closer to a PG-13 rating but is being released unrated because the Motion Picture Association of America, which rates films, decided “Recut” still belonged in the R category.