“Wonder Woman” is the wonder of the summer

The movie of the summer is here, and it does not feature questionably trained lifeguards with unrealistic abs or shark-infested tornados terrorizing the planet for the fifth time. This summer, the film that everyone needs to watch is DC’s latest superhero flick, “Wonder Woman.”

Going into the theater, I had pretty high expectations for this movie. Praise for the film covered my social media timelines, so by the time I got the chance to see it for myself, I was excited to witness the spectacle that everyone was talking about. Not only did the movie live up to its hype, it completely blew my expectations out of the water and quickly became one of my favorites.

I never would have expected DC, a brand who has rolled out unimpressive films such as “Suicide Squad” in recent years, to produce one of the best movies I have ever seen. However, breaking expectations seemed to be the norm for Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman, whose character formed the basis of my love for this film. She held her own against others who tried to tell her how to behave, and when she was confronted with adversity, she saved the world on her own terms. Diana’s values of hope and compassion did not slow her down, but only made her stronger, and it was because of these qualities that I found myself so enamored with her story and growth as a character.

As well as Diana’s character, another aspect of this film that I appreciated was the message it conveyed of universal love and humanity during a divisive time in world history. The movie presented characters with opposing points of view on the nature of humans: if they were inherently good and only corrupted by Ares, the god of war, or if they were inherently evil and just made awful decisions on their own. In the end, it is shown that humans can be both bad and good, but their subjective morality does not make them any less deserving of respect or life. The message that people should not have to be deemed worthy of basic rights or compassion is downright powerful, and delivered beautifully over the course of the film.

Besides elements such as the character and storyline of this movie, the overall design of the film was done to perfection. From the breathtaking island of Themyscira to despondent and wartorn No Man’s Land, each location was stunning in its own right. Also, the special effects used in the movie were incredible, and combined with every other aspect of the film to make it one of the best I have ever seen.

Whether for the action-packed battle scenes, uplifting message about humanity, or just the appearance of Chris Pine, “Wonder Woman” is a must-see for everyone this year.