David,
I’m going to strongly disagree. The PG-13 rating
was appropriate. The rating itself (including the supplemental
information explaining why the film received its rating) plus reviews,
blogs, etc. give parents more than enough information to make an
informed choice about the movie.
As for the 4 and 8 year-old kids, what part of PG-13 didn’t the parents understand. The rating communicates that some material may be inappropriate for kids under 13.
The film actually doesn’t have much graphic violence–key word is
“graphic.” The film cuts away without showing the “damage.”
Is there even any blood shown in the film? I don’t think
so. The noise level issue mentioned by the letter writer is too
silly to even address.
Should parents take their kids to the movie? I have no
idea–it depends on each individual kid. However, I can’t see why
most 13 year-olds (and probably kids younger than that) would have any
problems with the film.