Film review: Fast Girls (12A)

DIRECTOR Regan Hall puts cinema audiences under starter’s orders for the 2012 Olympic Games with this unabashedly feel-good drama of sporting ambition against the odds.

We’re jogging in familiar territory here, following a talented 200m sprinter from the wrong side of the tracks, whose raw talent propels her into the British relay squad where she clashes with the team’s privileged golden girl.

Shot on location in London, Fast Girls injects bursts of pace within the sprightly 90-minute running time and puts the female cast through their paces with coaching from British female Olympians Jeanette Kwakye and Shani Anderson. The script, co-written by Noel Clarke (Adulthood), Jay Basu and Roy Williams, passes the baton from one cliche to the next - forbidden romance, enmity mellowing into sisterly solidarity - culminating in a championship showdown that leaves a patriotic lump in the throat.

Still, Fast Girls is a thoroughly engrossing slice of home-grown entertainment that swiftly wins our affections.

Rating: ***