Much better than the initial critics led me to believe

Rating: 7/10 (3 August 2016)

I've learned not to trust professional critics too much, doing so had me bored witless watching A Girl With a Pearl Earring and potentially avoiding Suicide Squad. Which in itself kinda explains why the initial movie wasn't to my liking.
Having been disappointed by BMvsSM, I was holding out hope that SS would improve on that disappointing excuse for entertainment. Especially since Marvel has had me firmly in their grasp, and Deadpool which I waited many years for, reigniting my passion for those beyond Marvel's firm grasp ... Even if it is in the neighbour's yard.
SS starts off at an intentionally and somewhat unavoidable slow pace for a movie, the only way this could possibly have been sped up is if the characters had been introduced in previous movies and this outing being their group debut. So you have to accept that for a large troupe there is character background to go through, although not enough to slow the movie down too much.
It's hard to work out who the main antagonist is in the movie, but generally speaking there are 3. The Joker, Enchantress and Amanda Waller herself. Enchantress arguably plays the main antagonist, but without a huge amount of screen time, which is one of my few issues with the movie. It was far too busy with too many antagonists and running story lines to stay focused and engaged and even passionate about their mission. The only person you do actually want them all to take out, ironically is Amanda Waller - which fits with her comic book character anyway - so in that respect, she us true to story. The Joker story-line for me just distracted from the rest of the story. It was obviously a set up for another outing but didn't need to happen here.
There is great chemistry between the key SS members and some funny lines that keep you laughing, even if a little nervously. This isn't however an Avengers ensemble type of humour. Margot Robbie and Will Smith both do admirably, with Margot Robbie even producing a very Harley Quinn sounding voice.
Overall, I loved it. Would have preferred a slightly less convoluted story-line but otherwise I thought it was great and well worth that first midnight viewing in NZ.