“Hawaii Five-O” is solid in its first year thanks to some good writing, fine direction and fights and most of all, great chemistry between the main cast. Alex O’Loughlin is perfect as McGarrett while Scott Cann balances well timed comedy with some good dramatic moments as well. Of course, one cannot and should not ignore the lovely Grace Park who isn’t just eye candy but can kick ass and hold her own as well.
“Hawaii Five-O” The First Season (2010-11)
REVIEW NAVIGATION
The Movie | Special Features | Video Quality | Audio Quality | Overall
Genre(s): Action, Crime, Suspense
Paramount | NR – 1086 min. – $64.99 | September 20, 2011
MOVIE INFO:
Directed by: Various
Writer(s): Various
Cast: Alex O’Loughlin, Scott Caan, Daniel Dae Kim, Grace Park
DISC INFO:
Features: Episode Commentaries, Featurettes, Deleted Scenes, Gag Reel
Number of Discs: 6
Audio: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), French (Dolby Digital Stereo)
Video: Widescreen 1.78
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Portuguese, Spanish
THE MOVIE – 3.75/5
Lieutenant Steve McGarrett (ALEX O’LOUGHLIN) leads an elite crime-fighting force, cracking the island’s toughest cases while also tracking down the elusive killers of his legendary father. Joining the intensely driven McGarrett are by-the-book Detective Danny “Danno” Williams (SCOTT CAAN); former protégé of McGarrett’s father (played by WILLIAM SADLER), Chin Ho Kelly (DANIEL DAE KIM); and ex-pro surfer now rookie cop-with-attitude Kono Kalakaua (GRACE PARK).
Often remakes, be it film or television, don’t fare very well but this year we not only had one very good series in “Nikita” but also CBS’s hit show, “Hawaii Five-O” where we get an update to the theme as well as modernizing the characters for a new generation while still paying homage to the original series which had an extensive life airing from 1968 all the way to 1980 before it was cancelled in its 12th season.
This series, thus far, is pretty dang entertaining mixing a fair amount of humor with well directed and choreographed fight sequences that keeps each episode fresh. The show does have a running storyline concerning McGarrett’s father but there’s also some one-off, single case episodes which I enjoy when these shows original air in case I miss an episode or two (a show like “24” I quickly give up if I miss just one episode).
In any case, CBS Productions, in conjunction with Paramount, and series developers Peter M. Lenkov (Demolition Man) and writing duo Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman (“Fringe”, Transformers, Star Trek) put together a great ensemble, a key ingredient for any show to have sustained success beyond its first season.
I can’t quite say I’ll stick with “Hawaii Five-O” next season, but it’s still entertaining from episode to episode and the chemistry with the cast mixed in with solid storytelling does make this a recommended viewing.
Episode Listing:
01. Pilot
02. Ohana (Hawaiian for “Family”)
03. Malama Ka Aina (“Respect the Land”)
04. Lanakila (“Victory”)
05. Naolwale (“Forgotten/Missing”)
06. Ko’Olauloa (North Shore of O’Ahu)
07. Ho’Apono (“Accept”)
08. Mana’O (“Belief”)
09. Po’Ipu (“The Siege”)
10. Heihei (“Race”)
11. Palekaiko (“Paradise”)
12. Hana ‘A’A Makehewa (“Desperate Measures”)
13. Ke Kinohi (“The Beginning”)
14. He Kane Hewa’ole (“An Innocent Man”)
15. Kai E’E (“Tidal Wave”)
16. E Malama (“To Protect”)
17. Powa Maka Moana (“Pirate”)
18. Loa Aloha (“The Long Goodbye”)
19. Ne Me’e Laua Na Paio (“Heroes and Villains”)
20. Ma Ke Kahakai (“Shore”)
21. Ho’Opa’i (“Vengeance”)
22. Ho’ohuli Na’au (“Close to Heart”)
23. Ua Hiki Mai Kapalena Pau (“Until the End is Near”)
24. Oia’i’o (“Trust”)
PACKAGING
The 6-disc set comes in a standard DVD case with a side sliding matted slip cover.
SPECIAL FEATURES – 3.5/5
There’s a fair amount of features included in the set:
2 Episode Commentaries – There are commentaries included for the “Pilot” episode and “E Malama”, with Director Len Wiseman and Producers Peter Lenkov & Robert Orci for the Pilot and Director Brad Turner and Cast Members Alex O’Loughlin, Scott Caan, Daniel Dae Kim & Grace Park on the other.
Legacy (11:38) covers what the old show brought to television and how this new series would borrow from it and make other things its own. This is a decently made feature where we get interviews with cast members old and new.
Picture Perfect: Making the Pilot (27:07) – This is a lengthy featurette showing some behind-the-scenes footage on filming the pilot mixed in with comments with the cast and crew members, their thoughts on the story and some of the difficulties of shooting in Hawaii.
Grace Park’s Hawaiian Tour (5:25) – The actress takes the viewer on a tour around Hawaii showing off some her hula skills, takes in some of the Hawaiian cuisines and then some surfing before finishing off with some dessert treats.
Re-Scoring the Theme Song (1:43) is a short featurette that shows how composer Brian Tyler re-worked the theme to make it more modern but still making it recognizable.
Inside Comic Con (6:22) – This is the on stage panel discussion at Comic Con where cast and crew answer questions about the series’ remake. It’s really nothing that interesting but harmless to include.
Shore Lines: The Story of Season 1 (30:26) is another lengthy featurette this time covering various aspects from the storylines to shooting on different and unique locations. It’s a well rounded featurette that clues the audience in to the amount of thought and work that went into the first season.
Aloha Action (15:14) takes a look at the action scenes and stunt work done on the series.
Deleted Scenes (40:00) – There’s an extensive amount of deleted scenes included from 13 of the episodes. Most of it is just filler but there’s a couple good performances that had to be chopped no doubt due to time constraints.
Gag Reel (7:32) – You know the drill, line flubs and on-set antics galore within.
Inside the Box (6:47) is about the tool box that holds the key to his father’s murder.
CBS On-Air Launch Promos (3:40) are a collection of, well, promos for the show.
Eye Lab Online Launch Promos (8:04) is more of the same but this time we get interview sound bites with the cast and some behind-the-scenes footage of their promo photo shoot.
VIDEO – 4.0/5
“Hawaii Five-O” The First Season is presented in anamorphic widescreen and displays the locale quite nicely and although it’s probably not as sharp as the Blu-ray release (exclusive from Best Buy), it’s close enough I suppose. Colors are vivid as one would expect and I didn’t notice much in the way of artifacting or pixilation.
AUDIO – 3.75/5
The Dolby Digital 5.1 track meanwhile is adequate if not ordinary. It shows off some of the action sequences while also keeping levels up to understand the dialogue as well as some depth during the title sequence and theme.
OVERALL – 3.75/5
Overall, “Hawaii Five-O” is solid in its first year thanks to some good writing, fine direction and fights and most of all, great chemistry between the main cast. Alex O’Loughlin is perfect as McGarrett while Scott Cann balances well timed comedy with some good dramatic moments as well. Of course, one cannot and should not ignore the lovely Grace Park who isn’t just eye candy but can kick ass and hold her own as well. The DVD is alright with a decent selection of features and adequate video and audio transfers.
Brian Oliver, The Movieman
Published: 09/19/2011