Marching Powder

'Marching Powder' is exactly what one would expect from a Danny Dyer (and Nick Love) movie. I'm a little split on how I feel about it though. Most of the comedy is quite lazy and forced, though a couple of jokes did get a chuckle out of me; e.g. Dagenham.

The fourth wall breaking is questionable, it kinda works for a few moments but is mostly ill-fitting and cringey. On the other hand, there is surprisingly one touching scene; it involves Kenny Boy on the blower, I genuinely felt it in the feels - very unexpected for a movie of this sort.

As for the cast, Dyer is mostly good in the lead role; far from perfect, but he gives largely what you'd anticipate. Stephanie Leonidas does well, while Calum MacNab is initially iffy as the aforementioned Kenny but ends up being one of the better aspects of this 2025 release.

All things considered, I think I do have to file this one under 'average' - rather than 'good'. It's somewhat of a close call granted, but I do believe that the cons outweigh the pros. The deciding factor is the plot, which basically finishes as it starts; barely any progress is made.

Anyone paying to watch this movie should be very aware of 1. What type of movies the director has previously put out, and 2. What type of movies Danny Dyer has put out. If you are keen on the rough, close to the bone language and violence, you will enjoy this movie. It's akin to football factory but with a better, more grown up storyline. If you're rating Marching Powder low, then the mistake is on your part. It's exactly what you should expect, and was very enjoyable.

The supporting characters are all spot on and add to the Essex gangster no nonsense script.

Danny Dyer, legend of the Dickie.

Marching Powder is a lot of fun as it nobly tries to be a romantic comedy with a darker edge due to its subject matter. There's no mistaking what you're going to get here and the opening sequence (both animated and live action) ensures you know exactly what the next 90 minutes are going to be like. It covers quite a bit within that shorter run time and always remains engaging even if it's undoubtedly frustrating to watch the cycle repeating itself so many times.

Danny Dyer's character doesn't make a strong case for any potential redemption or forgiveness so his natural charms are working overtime to keep him likeable which is the sole reason he remains a watchable presence. Every time he breaks the fourth wall it works and his self deprecating nature is also a big help. Stephanie Leonidas is the sole heart of the film as she gives Dyer too many second chances without being naive about the chances of success.

Nick Love's direction manages to maintain the playful nature throughout, starting strong with an animated fairytale opening and then finding various ways to include equally fantastical flourishes. It's a hard tone to balance, moving back and forth between brutal gang violence and more lighthearted relationship shenanigans but it does a pretty good job of handling the tonal shifts. Simon Stolland's cinematography definitely helps by employing chaotic camerawork for the fights.

Powered by copious amounts of lager and cocaine, Marching Powder will do little to quell the stereotyping of middle-aged football hooligans but does admittedly provide the occasional laugh amidst the gratuitous violence and drunken punch-ups. In some regards, it feels like it's harkening back to the early days of Guy Ritchie, however, not even Danny Dyer's boyish charm and undeniable screen presence - when he does manage to recapture the raw intensity that made him a star in the first place - can redeem Director Nick Love's script. Maybe one day I'll actually bring myself to watch his remake of The Sweeney if only for the car chase the Top Gear lads directed. For all the foul-mouthed aggro, the predominant tone is one of mollycoddled smugness, aiming to shock by reviving taboo language and jokes about sitting on Gary Glitter's lap, it's more toothless than dangerous but I can't deny I still had a degree of fun watching Marching Powder. It's awful, don't get me wrong, but in that oh-so-special way that makes it endearingly crap than outright crap but maybe Danny Dyer should stick to popping up on Celebrity Gogglebox now and then.

STAR RATING: ***** Brilliant **** Very Good *** Okay ** Poor * Awful

Jack (Danny Dyer) is a middle aged dad of one, whose only outlet remains through organised ruckuses at football matches. After getting caught up in his latest scrap, a judge orders him to get his life back in order to avoid a prison sentence. Over the coming weeks, he attempts to reconcile with his childhood love, Dani (Stephanie Leonidas), secure a construction job with Dani's dodgy dad (Geoff Bell), and reconnect with his son, whose hit double figures. But his connection with the psychotic Kenny Boy (Callum McNab) threatens to derail it all.

"Back in the good old days, when men had a c**k and women had a s**g..." From the off-set, it's clear that the first collaboration between Danny Dyer and director Nick Love in well over a decade, somewhat unsurprisingly, isn't going to concern itself with any sense of political correctness. After all, who are either of them to disappoint their fan base, even in what are surely more sensitive, understanding times? But then, the film is an examination of a man whom time has passed by, and so it's all the more fitting.

The reunion of the directing/starring pair feels framed as a follow up to their signature piece, The Football Factory, despite featuring completely different characters in a completely new setting. In contrast to TFF's flashy, frenetic approach to its characters, Marching Powder portrays an older, more beaten down man, more honestly shown as a desperate loser with little else in his life. The tone uneasily shifts between tongue in cheek humour and heavy, more reflective drama, without the most focused plot to keep you following to the end, but somehow it does.

It's a throwback reunion of old faces of the British crime genre, in front of the camera and behind it, rebelliously non-PC, messy and incoherent, but funny and wild, pleasing to those it's aimed at. ***