"You don't often hear the phrases 'feel-good' and 'Financial Conduct Authority' in the same sentence," said John Nugent in Empire. "But 2023's 'Bank of Dave' was as feel-good as they come, telling the 'true-ish' story of David Fishwick (played by Rory Kinnear), a businessman and Burnley bloke who defied the odds and snooty financial regulators to open a charitable community bank for his fellow Lancastrians."
A "proper heart-warming Brit-com in the classical mould", it became a surprise hit on Netflix – and now, "Dave is back".
'Force of feel-goodery'
The action picks up two years on from where the last film left off, with Dave – "now a minor celebrity" – taking on predatory payday-loan firms on behalf of the good people of Burnley.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"As with the first film, Piers Ashworth's script hammers its well-meaning message home with the subtlety of a Lancashire hotpot to the face", but "by God, it remains a powerful force of feel-goodery, powered in large part by the almighty piston of Rory Kinnear's gregarious, charismatic performance".
'Script is dire'
I'm afraid I found this sequel "a bit thin and crap", said Robbie Collin in The Telegraph. It feels "about as tethered to reality as 'Transformers: Rise of the Beasts'"; and the script is dire. Dave's wife tells him: "You're an ordinary bloke standing up against corruption, standing up for ordinary people who don't have lawyers and who don't have a voice!"
The film sticks to the formula that made the original work, said James Mottram in Radio Times.
And while it does "stretch credulity", underlying it is "a very serious topic, smartly presented in a way that never feels too forced".
-
Rothermere’s Telegraph takeover: ‘a right-leaning media powerhouse’Talking Point Deal gives Daily Mail and General Trust more than 50% of circulation in the UK newspaper market
-
The US-Saudi relationship: too big to fail?Talking Point With the Saudis investing $1 trillion into the US, and Trump granting them ‘major non-Nato ally’ status, for now the two countries need each other
-
Sudoku medium: November 30, 2025The daily medium sudoku puzzle from The Week
-
We Did OK, Kid: Anthony Hopkins’ candid memoir is a ‘page-turner’The Week Recommends The 87-year-old recounts his journey from ‘hopeless’ student to Oscar-winning actor
-
The Mushroom Tapes: a compelling deep dive into the trial that gripped AustraliaThe Week Recommends Acclaimed authors team up for a ‘sensitive and insightful’ examination of what led a seemingly ordinary woman to poison four people
-
‘Chess’feature Imperial Theatre, New York City
-
‘Notes on Being a Man’ by Scott Galloway and ‘Bread of Angels: A Memoir’ by Patti Smithfeature A self-help guide for lonely young men and a new memoir from the godmother of punk
-
6 homes built in the 1700sFeature Featuring a restored Federal-style estate in Virginia and quaint farm in Connecticut
-
Film reviews: 'Wicked: For Good' and 'Rental Family'Feature Glinda the Good is forced to choose sides and an actor takes work filling holes in strangers' lives
-
Nick Clegg picks his favourite booksThe Week Recommends The former deputy prime minister shares works by J.M. Coetzee, Marcel Theroux and Conrad Russell
-
Park Avenue: New York family drama with a ‘staggeringly good’ castThe Week Recommends Fiona Shaw and Katherine Waterston have a ‘combative chemistry’ as a mother and daughter at a crossroads
