"Hawaii Five-0" Review

Honestly, I was pretty sure that I would hate this series.  I hated the original series, but that may have worked in my favor here.  I found the pilot episode to be action-packed and fun.  The fight scenes were well-choreographed and intense.  The plot line was believable, for the most part.  It even had Jean Smart in a guest role as the governor of Hawaii.  That’s right, Governor Charlene.  She pulled the part off well.

Those who turn to this series for the chance to watch beautiful people surfing and frolicking on the beaches of Hawaii won’t be disappointed.  It had its requisite beach scenes, including some beautiful shots of Grace Park shredding.  That alone would be worth the time to watch.  It follows the old formula with some new twists.  It uses very modern action sequences and high production values to reproduce an old classic.  I found this version better. I don't suggest that this series is particularly intellectually stimulating, just that it is a fun action series.

Alex O’Loughlin was strong and sexy in the role of McGarrett.   He was a good choice for the role.  As expected, Daniel Dae Kim was stellar, and Grace Park was beautiful, as I previously mentioned.  Even Scott Caan, who I typically find grating and too intense, was unable to tank this experience for me.  His comic timing in the role of Danno was quite good, and the perfect counterbalance to the intensity of McGarrett.  I have to say, it’s an excellent cast.

There was only one thing that I found problematic with the pilot.  They worked so hard to get “Book ‘em, Danno” into the script that it felt forced and heavy-handed.  I can only hope that it was a one-off homage to the original, and that it will not make it into every episode.

Viewers who missed the pilot should not be concerned that they are being left out of the myth arc.  There is a small back story about the murder of the main character’s father (which was the case to be solved in the first episode).  This may play into future episodes – I expect to hear more about it in the season one finale – but I do not expect that to be a major hindrance in being able to follow remaining episodes.  Should you wish to view the pilot, it is available online here http://www.cbs.com/primetime/hawaii_five_0/.  Or, for Comcast subscribers, it is also available on Comcast On Demand under TV series.

Hawaii Five-0 airs Monday nights at 10 PM eastern and 9 PM central.  As always, check your local listing.

Season one of the original series is available on DVD here:

Don’t own a Kindle, but would like to?  The latest generation of Kindle is available at the following links:  with WiFi only  or with WiFi and 3G.

For comments, questions, and feedback, the author may be contacted at:  unkemptruminations@comcast.net