When I sat down in the movie theater, I expected a typical action hero movie - a genre I’m not a fan of. A superhero with a typical love interest and an intrinsic need to save the world. An easily predictable plot line that never holds my interest.

What I watched instead was something I never could’ve imagined.

I heard great reviews of Wonder Woman from friends, and movie critics online have largely praised the film. I have to say, I agree myself. Wonder Woman is a beautiful film that preaches feminism and love. Something I never expected from an action movie.

The story begins on Themyscira, an island full of Amazon women who train each day to become as strong as they possibly could be. From this island comes Diana, daughter of Queen Hippolyta. Diana, eager to impress her mother, trained harder than any of the other Amazons to become a fierce warrior. When faced with a seemingly impossible decision to stay in safety on Themyscira or to leave for eternity to attempt to save humankind, Diana embarked on a journey to a strange, new world full of men.

In this world, Diana came face-to-face with the patriarchy at its finest. A room full of government men stopped important conversation simply because a woman entered the room. A norm of women only wearing long, conservative dresses. She constantly had her opinion not taken seriously solely because she was not a male. Even her own partner didn’t believe she was capable and believed they needed to get to some men who could stop the war through strategic planning.

Her response to that? “I am the man who can."

Wonder Woman shut down the patriarchy in many cases that were blatantly present in the past but still exist now. No matter how many times Diana proved she was more than capable of doing incredible things for the war (she single-handedly traveled through “No Man’s Land” and saved a village from enslavement), she was still scrutinized up until the end when she battled the actual god of war.

Her battles are battles that women face on a daily basis, and Wonder Woman demonstrated some for the big screen. Women are viewed for their beauty and ignored for their potential. Wonder Woman showed countless times how men immediately comment on her physical beauty instead of looking at how intelligent and powerful she is. Men even doubted her ability to know more than one language, simply because she is a woman.

Women’s strengths are disregarded to this day, whether we like it or not.

Wonder Woman is the first step of many to put women at the front of battles. Diana was never the sidekick in the movie and never was a love interest invented only to move the plot along. She fought battles herself and lead people to victories.

Representation matters. Girls can now look up to Diana as a fierce woman and aspire to be like her. Aside from Black Widow, there aren’t many times where women are portrayed as the strong protagonist in an action movie.

Diana leads with love and compassion for humankind, but that doesn’t stop her from shutting down the patriarchy if she needs to.

When I walked out of the movie theater, I couldn’t stop smiling. Finally, there was a superhero that I felt the world needed to see.

With trying times like now, Wonder Woman is an inspiring movie--for both men and women, boys and girls, young and old--to look up to. Everyone should try a little harder every day to be like Diana until things are changed for the better.

Only then will her battle be over.