One of the most anticipated movies of the summer, Wonder Woman, has finally hit theaters. With a lot of high expectations from the positive reviews it has received already, this movie does not disappoint.

The movie centers around Diana (Wonder Woman), played by Gal Gadot, and how she came to be the superhero that she is. The beginning of the movie shows a little Diana anxiously waiting to begin her training to become a warrior. No matter how badly she wants to train, her mother, the queen of the Amazons, refuses. Soon, however, Diana’s aunt convinces the queen to let Diana train. What follows is Diana being trained harder than any other warrior before her.

The majority of the movie takes place amidst World War I as Steve Trevor, a British spy played by Chris Pine, crashes his plane into the ocean just outside of where the Amazons live. Diana saves his life and this is where the movie truly begins. Steve and Diana head back to the war in Europe and Diana’s skills and powers are soon revealed.

The movie is action packed with war as the backdrop but also filled with comical moments as Diana attempts to understand how this strange new world works.

Throughout the movie, Diana displays how dedicated she is to protecting those who cannot protect themselves. She sees it as her duty to defend the world from the God of War, Ares. This is what drives the plot as Diana truly becomes Wonder Woman in order to defeat who she believes is Ares.

This movie was entertaining through the whole two hours and twenty minutes. The cinematography was stunning and the set designs were true to the era. The actors portrayed the characters with emotion and honesty, and the plot was straightforward, but not too simple, as there were some twists and unexpected moments. While this can be classified as a “superhero movie,” it didn’t feel like the typical superhero-saves-the-city kind of movie as there was a lot more going on beneath the surface.

It was also refreshing to see a movie with a powerful female as the lead along with a female director. This movie is definitely empowering to women, but can also be enjoyed by men as well. The message of the movie is universal, as most people can support someone who wants to fight for those who can’t fight for themselves and will never back down.

Although the ending was perhaps a little disappointing, the movie as a whole was still entertaining and empowering, and I have nothing else to critique.

Wonder Woman was a great start to the summer blockbusters that will soon be released, and a great showing for DC. This company tends to not do as well as Marvel when it comes to superhero movies, but Wonder Woman brought in over $100 million during its opening weekend.

If you want an exciting and action packed movie to start off your summer with, I highly recommend going out and seeing this quality film.