‘Wonder Woman’ is the superhero film women have been waiting for

To the “Wonder Woman” critics, who said the movie was nothing new, or its only redeeming feature was the attractiveness of star Gal Gadot, or the movie diminished men because of one joke, or many other criticisms circulating online:

That’s OK. You can think what you want.

This movie is not for you.

It’s for women who grew up watching superhero movies with lead characters who never looked like them.

For women who have never liked superhero movies until this one because Wonder Woman is a compassionate, strong superhero like none other.

For young girls who can now say the first superhero movie they saw in theaters starred a female superhero.

For women who were tired of seeing female superheroes always in supporting roles.

For all the girls now growing up, as Brian Engard tweeted, with Wonder Woman as their first superhero, Rey as a Jedi and female Ghostbusters on screen.

For all women who were ready to see not only one powerful female but hundreds, in the form of Diana’s fellow Amazons.

For the female athletes and actresses who got to bring those Amazons to life on screen.

For whoever watched it and decided that Diana’s tiara belonged on the head of the Fearless Girl statue on Wall Street.

For Gadot, who has all the skill, beauty, humor and emotion the character needed.

For director Patty Jenkins, who broke the record for most successful opening weekend for a female director, and who succeeded in her goal of making not a great female superhero movie, but a great superhero movie, period.

For the kindergarten girls Jenkins tweeted about, who were fascinated by the superhero within a week of the movie release.

For the future female actresses who get to play more superheroes because this one both satisfied a hunger viewers had and left them wanting more.

For all women who felt empowered and emotional while watching Wonder Woman be strong and feminine and powerful and loving, all at once.

This isn’t to say that every woman loved the movie and every man hated it; that’s so far from true. This movie was viewed and enjoyed by so many men and women, and it was disliked by some men and some women.

But a reminder to the critics: Even if it were a terrible female superhero film, we’ve all been watching some pretty terrible male superhero movies for years.

So terrible or not (and I say not), this one’s for the girls.

This story was originally published June 16, 2017 at 8:23 PM with the headline "‘Wonder Woman’ is the superhero film women have been waiting for."