4.3.2.1

Four girls, 3 days, 2 cities (London and New York) and 1 ("chance", or whatever) comprise the recipe for another British crime drama, 4.3.2.1. It was written and co-directed by Noel Clarke, a black English TV actor (Doctor Who and Auf Wiedersehen, Pet) who wrote and acted in a youth crime movie, Kidulthood (2006). That led to his directorial debut for its much more successful sequel, Adulthood (2008), which he also starred in and wrote. Two years later, he's written himself a smaller role (as yet another tough guy) in a crime caper featuring young women, three English and one American.

One's quite tall, very black, sassy and a female-lib martial artist (Shanika Adulthood Warren-Markland), another's very tall, blond, virginal and sardonic (Tamsin St Trinian's Egerton). Their shorter brunette friends (American Emma Inflows Roberts and Brit Ophelia Holby City/Chatroom Lovibond) have dysfunctional families, personal problems and work full-time or when it's dramatically convenient (in, no wordplay probably intended, a convenience store, alongside Clarke's character).

The plot frequently manages to drop into the girls' lives when they're in the underwear, because Clarke clearly reckoned he'd hit the jackpot with a plot combining Charlie's Angels, Sex and the City, teen sex, Guy Richie crime capers and abrupt Tarentino action and jump-cuts.

One event brings the girlfriends closer together: their accidental run-in with a local mixed-race gang of diamond thieves and its fiery bosswoman. And, yes, the villainess does survive in a self-mocking (it must be, please) ending that overwhelmingly hints at a sequel. It's unlikely to be made unless this movie's very many credited executive producers need more offsetting tax losses.

The movie's credited co-director, Mark Davis, an experienced TV film editor, gained his first credit as editor in 1999 for the Metrosexuality blaxpoitative/gay series, which starred Clarke as the lead hetero character. His presence on Clarke's latest movie gave it a self-consciously quick-jumping, screen-splitting, nervous energy that has a probably unintentional alienating effect and definitely unintentionally highlights the poor ensemble acting.

Also alienating this audience was a guest cameo appearance by offbeat American comedy film-maker Kevin Smith, as a courier on a plane. It was an irrelevant spot, but his screen charisma illustrated the failings of the other cast members: he knew what he was doing and how to do it.