Bank of Dave 2: The Loan Ranger

Bank of Dave 2 takes the real life situation of Dave's campaign against Wonga payday loan company ( who created so much misery ) and as it says at the start of the film embellish's the facts with a fictional gangster story line and a romance.

The fact it did lead to change & demise of numerous evil payday loan companies warrants the film being produced.

If you understand finance the film is great and the embellishments make the film dramatic and humorous in many ways.

Personally I loved it then looked at what was real and what was not. I would recommend you do the same - watch it and enjoy the film then see how real it is.

Enjoy we both did and gave it a 9 out of 10 as we both enjoyed it.

Bank of Dave 2: The Lone Ranger is an unexpected sequel that actually finds a worthwhile story to tell and its greatest strength lies in putting the best aspect mostly front and centre this time. It's hindered by an extremely cliché romantic subplot and it seriously jumps the shark towards the end but it always remains entertaining, enhanced by the continued celebration of a genuinely kind and thoughtful person.

Rory Kinnear is easily the best thing about these thanks to his endlessly loveable presence and the increased screen time only improves his performance by giving him more to work with and his accent is faultless yet again. Chrissy Metz and Amit Shah do a good job making the weakest element work as well as it can since their budding romance is cute enough to almost warrant every diversion taken for it.

Returning director Chris Foggin brings a workmanlike quality to proceedings so it's all solidly constructed without anything in particular standing out. Generally, it's very blunt in what it's doing and a lot of the dialogue really lacks subtlety as it makes grand statements in the broadest and most generic fashion possible, especially when it comes to the songs implemented through karaoke.

It;s hard to describe how much I like this, but the original is Brilliant too. I admit to some geographical, and cultural bias Burnley, Rock Music, virtually every music pub in the UK, Banks, Poverty,,Pay Day Loans. Ordinary working people, becoming completely desperate by the unregulated pay day loan sharks in the UK.. But the Americans come out of this film relatively well, considering they are still trying their best to impoverish all of Europe including the UK.. What makes this film is not just Dave from Burnley, but how completely accurate it is at portraying real people in Lancashire...how warm friendly and welcoming we. Are - even if totally skint..

Obviously these aren't meant to be high-end, high-budget films. There's a certain charm to the low production value and deliberate cheesiness of the Bank of Dave films; the same vibe as those 90s and 00s "guilty pleasure" romcoms...

My main fault is that Bank of Dave 2's cheesiness overlaps with lazy storytelling. Aside from an overly predictable romantic storyline, there are too many convenient "coincidences", and at times the plot verges on absurd...

E.g. Def Leppard are conveniently in the right place at the right time, and they help Dave out in quite an unconventional and unrealistic way...(!)(among other eyeroll-inducing coincidences in the plot)

That being said, it's a fun and easy watch overall, making it one to watch again at Christmas etc. I'd give it 6 stars, but since I'm from near "Burnleh" it makes the film funnier and more relatable... So I'll add another star and say 7 😉

"Bank of Dave 2" continues the themes of challenging big banks on behalf of the little guy, but it struggles to match the charm and freshness of the first film. The story remains engaging, though the courtroom scenes and action-heavy moments feel less impactful and somewhat forced. Rory Kinnear and Jo Hartley deliver as Dave and Nicky, but the absence of beloved characters from Part 1 is noticeable. Forced subplots, including a bland love story, drag down the film's emotional impact. While Burnley's small-town setting adds authenticity, pacing issues and a weaker supporting cast make this sequel less memorable. A decent follow-up worth watching for fans of the original, but it doesn't quite live up to its predecessor.