Somehow we're already two weeks into January, sailing towards the so-called 'Blue Monday' – not that the year has started off miserly in any way, with the fantastic CES 2025 tech show revealing some stellar products, including 21 T3 Award-winning products.
I am, however, already completely knackered – and after a spate of cheesy Christmas movies and various murder whodunnit docu-series, I'm so here for Netflix's new number one in the UK – The Bank of Dave 2: The Loan Ranger. It follows the original British modern classic, which netted a note-worthy 87% on Rotten Tomatoes.
The sequel follows on from the first feel-good comedy-drama in a similar vein. The film is about Dave, who started a local bank with values of fairness rather than greed, and in so doing broke down the system's walls. Now he's back and on a mission to take down loanshark companies charging disproportionate interest rates and fees to fleece people.
It's loosely based on true events, although you can take that with a pinch of salt I'm sure. It's not total fiction, however, as a decade ago Dave – whose real bank is Burnley Savings and Loans – did campaign against payday loan companies, most specifically Wonga, eventually prompting the UK government to introduce regulations.
Dave is played by Rory Kinnear, who you may recognise as playing the Prime Minister in the excellent The Diplomat, which is also on Netflix, in a greatly heartfelt yet sometimes comedic role. The actor is a big deal at the moment, having recently starred in Guy Ritchie's The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare.
As I say, it's just the kind of post-trade-show remedy that I need in my life this January. I'm sure others will agree, too, although at the time of writing The Bank of Dave 2 unusually doesn't have any Rotten Tomatoes rating. That goes to show that this Brit flick, whilst already super-popular – it's at number one, after all – is a little under the radar compared to some of Netflix's biggest big-hitters.
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