'X-Men: First Class' reminds us we are all mutants now; Los Angeles Times, 6/5/11

Nick Gillespie and Matt Welch, Los Angeles Times; 'X-Men: First Class' reminds us we are all mutants now:

"Though populated with superpowered "mutants" such as Magneto (who is able to control all sorts of metallic objects), Storm (capable of flight and creating crazy weather), Banshee (an Irish American tenor who can kill with his voice) and Raven (a blue-skinned shape-shifter), "X-Men" perfectly captures social reality and social aspirations in a post-gender, post-racial, post-mainstream, post-everything America. The multicolored, polyglot heroes and villains of the X-Men universe may be able to communicate by reading minds rather than using Skype, and they may be able to fly anywhere without booking tickets in advance, but make no mistake: That's us up there on the screen...

Yet by and large, the X-Men learn not just how to get by but how to flourish as a community. Similarly, after many fits and starts, American society has generally come to accept plenitude, recognizing not just that mutants walk among us but that we are all mutants, with unique desires and talents that, when acknowledged and developed, lead to a vastly more interesting, exciting and prosperous world than the alternative."