During the 1990's, Wong Jing and Stephen Chow teamed together in a series of hits, such as God of Gamblers II and Royal Tramp. Their last collaboration came in 1999 with The Tricky Master. While it took in a respectable amount of money at the box office and it's not a bad film per se, it is easy to see by the on-screen results that the partnership ended at just the right time for everyone involved.

The usual Wong Jing slap-dash plot presented here revolves around Leung (Nick Cheung), a cop who is suspended after he botches an attempt to bust the notorious conman Ferarri (Wong Jing). Leung's brother-in-law Wong (Stephen Chow), himself one of Hong Kong's top swindlers, agrees to help out Leung, on the condition that they split Ferrari's fortune.

Despite his top billing and prominence on the cover art, Stephen Chow is fairly absent for most of the first half of the movie. Instead, the emphasis is on Nick Cheung, who was a protege of sorts of Wong Jing at this time, starring in other Wong productions like The Conman. Even though he is now known as one of Hong Kong's better actors, at this point in his career, Nick Cheung was frankly not very good. Thus, the first half is sometimes a chore to get through, as Cheung's incessant mugging gets almost unbearable at times. Thankfully, things are lightened up a bit by some eye candy via Kelly Lin, who plays Nick's semi-love interest.

Business does pick up when Stephen Chow does make a full entrance into the picture, but one definitely gets the sense that he appeared in this picture just for the money, or maybe due to a contractual obligation. The comedy hits all of the usual "moy len tau" notes of Cantonese puns and pop culture parodies, but it all feels a bit forced and hollow. Even Chow's Bruce Lee tribute scene -- which are usually highlights of his movies -- comes off as someone just going through the motions, rather than truly enjoying their work.

If you are a big fan of Stephen Chow and have already seen his major releases, it's still probably worth checking out The Tricky Master. There are a few funny jokes thrown at the viewer, along with a couple of decent action scenes featuring Ken Lo. All in all, even though there's no way The Tricky Master could be considered a "great" movie, it's good enough to provide you with ninety minutes of decent brainless entertainment.

RATING: 5