"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".
-
The best homes of the yearFeature Featuring a former helicopter engine repair workshop in Washington, D.C. and high-rise living in San Francisco
-
Critics’ choice: The year’s top 10 moviesFeature ‘One Battle After Another’ and ‘It Was Just an Accident’ stand out
-
A luxury walking tour in Western AustraliaThe Week Recommends Walk through an ‘ancient forest’ and listen to the ‘gentle hushing’ of the upper canopy
-
Joanna Trollope: novelist who had a No. 1 bestseller with The Rector’s WifeIn the Spotlight Trollope found fame with intelligent novels about the dramas and dilemmas of modern women
-
Appetites now: 2025 in food trendsFeature From dining alone to matcha mania to milk’s comeback
-
Man vs Baby: Rowan Atkinson stars in an accidental adoption comedyTalking Point Sequel to Man vs Bee is ‘nauseatingly schmaltzy’
-
Goodbye June: Kate Winslet’s directorial debut divides criticsTalking Point Helen Mirren stars as the terminally ill English matriarch in this sentimental festive heartwarmer
-
A Christmas Carol (or two)The Week Recommends These are the most delightful retellings of the Dickens classic from around the country
