For Parents--It's Rated PG-13 for a Reason

Rating: 10/10 (19 July 2010)

For parents who are looking for a thought provoking movie where you're getting you money's worth, DON'T bring pre-teens.
The movie is very well acted by all, especially notable was Joseph Gordon-Levitt's performance who, at one of the most critical points in the movie, is able to think clearly, improvise, and is the only one aware (as far as I could make out of it) that his actions/inactions will save the day for the mission and his comrades.
With that caveat, let me say that this is a movie that I found thoroughly captivating, and at nearly 2 1/2 hours long, could have had some careful editing to shorten the length of a few scenes but very few.
I could have missed it, but didn't notice any Eff-bombs, and the violence is reserved for the dream sequences (which make up probably 95% of the flick) and like most dreams there are elements (even violent) that don't seem to make any sense even for pacifists or ones who consider themselves very moral.
On the morality point, there are many lessons here for all, and it is clearly evident to those in the film, from trust to regret to redemption.
Unless your child is very intelligent, leave them at home and promise to take them to "Despicable Me" or something else they'll understand.
If you choose to forgo the above, do yourself and the audience in the theater a favor--bring duct tape, and be prepared to use it.
If you don't, after the first dozen "What's happening," "Is it real," "I don't understand," etc, your theater neighbors will no doubt be more than willing to escort the kids, and you, to the nearest exit.
This is a complex, thinking person's movie. It's not a DVD that you can pause and take however long (if even possible) to try to help your kids to understand.
That doesn't mean that the totality of the movie is impossible to understand for an adult, and there is just enough, left to your own imagination, that you can interpret parts, the ending, or the entire movie in alternate ways.
This is not to infer that you'll be throwing your money away going to see the movie--far from it, it's the type of thought provoking movie that will have you re-running in your own mind, and/or discussing it with others for some time.
But save yourself some money if you have the kind of wonderful, loving, normal pre-teens that most of us do--and this isn't a challenge for those who are convinced that their kids are the exceptional few who will understand what's going on without having to play 20,000 questions during the first 15 minutes.
You've been warned, and your fellow theater-goers WILL be bringing their own duct tape for the ?-askers.