STAR RATING: ***** Brilliant **** Very Good *** Okay ** Poor * Awful
Following his successful battle with the big banks, Dave (Rory Kinnear) now he faces a new adversary: Pay Day Loan Lenders, who are targeting the poor and vulnerable, offering financial lifelines before charging exorbitant interest rates. When the top companies are identified, it is discovered that they are just subsidiaries of financial companies based in the U. S., headed by the shady Carlo Mancini (Rob Heaney.) Dave calls in the help of U. S. based expert Jessica (Chrissy Metz) and shy accountant Oliver (Amit Shah) to help in his battle against them.
2023's Bank of Dave obviously made enough of an impression that this hastily delivered sequel has arrived early in the new year, perfectly understandable as times remain tough, and many people are struggling to get by and see their standard of life declining, even though this film actually charts events that now occurred over ten years ago, concerning the regulation of pay day loans. But the present situation was the result of gradual design, and so it's worth a look in.
Director Chris Foggin returns to directing duties, and pretty much repeats the formula of his previous film, basically aiming for a feel good true life tale, in the midst of hard financial times, but while the novelty of this might have seen it by the first time, this time the cracks are a little harder to cover over. While it's portraying no doubt fundamentally honest, salt-of-the-earth working people, it feels over sanitised, lacking the raw, gritty feel of a true, working class area, and suffering as a result. All the gang from before have returned, but it's on a bigger scope now going stateside, leading to an unnecessary and distracting subplot involving an awkward romance between Oliver and Jessica.
If you particularly enjoyed the first one, there are more rich pickings for you here, with Kinnear back on form as the earthy, modest Dave, and a strong supporting cast, just a script that doesn't do the most with the potential at hand. ***
