“Wonder Woman” (2017) is a superhero film that stars Gal Gadot as the titular character and is directed by Patty Jenkins. The fourth film in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) , “Wonder Woman” provides the origin story of Diana of Themyscira, princess of the Amazons. The story follows her and military spy Steve Trevor and their efforts to help end World War I.

There were so many things riding on the commercial and critical success of this movie. A Wonder Woman movie has been in development for years, the project being halted by either studio meddling, behind-the-camera talent dropping out, or executives not thinking that a female-led movie could sell tickets. To many fans, this was also the DCEU’s last chance to make an all-around good movie, as the previous three films in the franchise have been met with mixed reviews. Personally, I told myself that if “Wonder Woman” wasn’t at least a decent movie, I would give up watching DCEU movies. Most of all, the success of this film would dictate what would be done about female representation in Hollywood. “Wonder Woman” is the first superhero movie to have a female director, the first summer blockbuster movie to have a female director, and is the first movie to feature a lead female superhero in over a decade. Basically if this movie wasn’t good it would set back female talent in Hollywood for a number of years. Needless to say as a female moviegoer who loves comics I was extremely nervous.

I knew that Gal Gadot as Diana Prince aka Wonder Woman would be amazing after her run as the character in 2016’s “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice”. She was by far the best part of the movie, even though she had less screen time than her male counterparts. She moved with a sense of mystery for most of of the film, until she revealed herself as the female hero and had an amazing fight sequence with the super villain Doomsday. I was more concerned about how they would handle Wonder Woman’s introduction to the world, as this would be the first time her origin would be portrayed in a live-action film. Luckily, I had nothing to be worried about.

Wonder Woman is a great film and is by far the best film in the DCEU (so far). The storyline was exceptional, the fight scenes were phenomenal, and the portrayals of Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor by Gal Gadot and Chris Pine respectively were amazing. Director Patty Jenkins did a fantastic job depicting Wonder Woman’s life on the island of Themyscira and what she was taught by her people, more specifically her mother (played by Connie Nielsen), and how that translated into her transition to “man’s world” and her unwavering desire to help people and do the right thing.

Gal Gadot perfectly encapsulates Diana as a woman with a warrior’s spirit. Gadot owned all of her fight scenes, showing intense passion and ferocity in every move she made. She made it possible to believe that a character like Wonder Woman could exist. At the same time, Gadot showed great comedic timing, playing up the naivety of the character (as she's never experienced the real world) as well sharing funny moments with Pine’s Steve Trevor.

Speaking of Chris Pine, he played not only a great love interest, but an amazing partner to Gadot’s Wonder Woman. Unlike the character’s popular interpretations as a male damsel-in-distress or a flirty womanizer, Steve Trevor showed heroism similar to Diana’s, with a desire to help end the war but in a more traditional way. He also had arguably the best line in the film (I won’t spoil it here).

I do have a couple of problems with the film however, as no movie is perfect. As Gadot is a bit on the green side when it comes to acting, her delivery seemed a bit wooden at times. The female comic book fan in me also wished that the movie spent more time on the island of Themyscira. It made me so incredibly happy to see all of these powerful female women depicted on film, and I wished they had been given more screen time. The biggest problem that the film had, however, is the villain reveal. While the twist did surprise me, I wish that the final battle was a bit more climactic.

I think the most amazing thing about this film is that it's exactly the superhero film we need right now. With never-ending conversations about women’s rights and feminism and living in a world that seems like it could fall apart at any moment, “Wonder Woman” provides a sense of hope and optimism. It’s a story about a hero who wants to help the world and refuses to let anyone get in her way. Its also a movie about a man and a women working side by side for the same cause, treating each other as equals and teaching each other lessons along the way. “Wonder Woman” will not only go down as one of the most important superhero films of all time, but is also just an important movie. I only hope that this film will influence others like it for years to come.