Anyone who thought the "Back to the Future" trilogy pulled out all the stops on time traveling comedies has yet to see "God of Gamblers Part III: Back to Shanghai."

This time around, Sing the Saint of Gamblers (Stephen Chow) and his uncle (Ng Man-tat) find themselves in 1930's Shanghai via a time warp.

Written and directed by Wong Jing the narrative is all over the map and can hardly justify its nearly two-hour runtime.

It is, nevertheless, an improvement over the series' second installment if only because Chow seems more accessible here; his humor has thankfully broadened and his punchlines have found a wider range of targets than those exclusive to Chinese culture.

Still, whether it is considered a sequel to "All for the Winner" (1990) or a part of the "God of Gamblers" series "Back to Shanghai" features little if any gambling until Wong shoehorns in a show down at the tables for a metaphysical card flipping finale that really isn't that much fun to watch.

Mainland beauty and internationally recognized actress Gong Li (seen here in dual roles) is underwhelming and looks out of place.