HOLLYWOOD—I will admit I had reservations about the big screen version of the flick “Wonder Woman.” I just got the vibe that the movie might not be as good as I expected. However, I have to eat those words as I was far more entertained than I ever expected. The film is not the first big screen adaptation of the female superhero; I mean we had “Elektra” with Jennifer Garner (but that was a bust). There is something about the narrative and the film’s ability to tackle issues between the sexes that weaves itself naturally and is alluring as a viewer.

Gal Gadot stars as Diana Prince, a woman from the Themyscira, which is the home of the Amazons, a group of female warriors who fiercely train and prepare for battle in case their greatest threat Ares (David Thewlis) returns to wreck more havoc. Queen Hippolyta (Connie Nielsen) is adamant about her daughter Diana not being trained by her sister General Antiope (Robin Wright) to prepare for battle. The ladies of the Amazon are magnificent; the backstory that we get behind the evolution of these women propels the story and gives us a variety of slices of woman who all have different motives for wanting to protect their native land.

This culminates with the arrival of Captain Steve Trevor (Chris Pine), who is being rescued by Diana after crashing his plane into the water. An invasion soon transpires of German soldiers, where the Amazons soon suspect Ares, the God of War has returned for battle. This leads to Diana defying her mother and traveling with Steve to fight the ‘war’ she suspects has been a result of Ares.

This is where “Wonder Woman” works quite well in my opinion, this battle of the sexes is not hidden. Director Patty Jenkins addresses it head on and the script does an exceptional job in my opinion of making it apparent that women have been cast aside from men far too much in history. There is comedy sprinkled throughout the film that brings levity to the situation, but the fact that the movie is even acknowledging the issue to begin with is so respectable in my opinion. Diana exudes a level of authority that her male counterparts are not used to seeing and for women it’s a level of empowerment that should be encouraged more; don’t be silent speak your mind.

“Wonder Woman” also has a bevy of action sequences that I was surprised to see; I even found myself at times noting this movie has more action than some of the other comic book flicks I’ve seen in recent years. We are delivered some great villains in this flick courtesy of Ares, General Erich Ludendorff (Danny Houston) and Dr. Isabel Maru (Elena Anaya). Most flicks tend to have one big bad, but when it’s dispersed properly as in this flick it works; all of our villains are working equally at one common goal: destruction.

Gadot is not just beautiful, but delivers a rousing performance that is multi-layered and not one note. Pine is great as her ally and the chemistry between Pine and Gadot work perfect on the big screen. I will pinpoint the flick is slightly longer than what it should be. About 15-20 minutes could have been cut from the narrative to halt the film from having a slow pace during that middle-pint of the movie.

“Wonder Woman” is a comic book flick that proves while so many think only males can reign supreme, a woman can do the same job with poise and without being seen as a damsel in distress. The movie will strike a chord with the audience and you will be entertained.