Some delirious dream in Hollywood gave birth to Suicide Squad. Upfront, Jared Leto’s insane turn as The Joker could be the film’s only weak spot. He’s such a dominant personality that his long disappearances disturb the flow. Ideally, he would be in every other scene thus making the character full-bodied rather than a sideshow. With that griping over with, I’d like to stress how Suicide Squad wowed me through such duplicity. While the Joker appears undernourished, individuals such as Harley Quinn (the constantly surprising Margot Robbie) and Deadshot (Will Smith) carry the film effortlessly.

The world could be in grave danger. So government bigwig Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) has the bright idea of recruiting villains to handle the problem. Her reasoning soon becomes clear, yet SPOILERS prevent expansion. Meanwhile, characters such as Killer Croc (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) and fire-conjuring Diablo (Jay Hernandez) must control their urges, while doing some good for once.

From top to bottom, pacing remains consistent except for a talky bar stretch. However, this moment does paint some worthy character shadings. Previously, Robbie and Smith shared the screen in Focus, a rather unwieldy conman thriller. For Suicide Squad, they start from scratch, and I’d argue that their chemistry elevates the entire enterprise. Both fall into boot camp with eager feet -- the quick asides and easy humour generating additional pluses. As such, the idea of seeing them in another movie sounds very tempting indeed.

Cue the rock soundtrack. In fact, composer Steven Price offers an able-bodied soundscape. Mixing in a little Frederik Wiedmann with some fire and brimstone, Price’s work exists in the half-space between good and truly excellent.

Unlike those vexing Marvel do-gooders -- Captain America can disappear forever in my opinion -- Suicide Squad reveals some duality between integrity and its nastier counterpart. Above all, writer/director David Ayer pokes fun at the genre… but never at the expense of character or situation. 

(Released by Warner Bros. and rated PG-13" for sequences of violence and action throughout, disturbing behavior, suggestive content and language.)