Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.5

Hawaii Five-0: The First Season Blu-ray Movie Review

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Reviewed by Martin Liebman September 20, 2011

The life of a cop is not easy.

Remade or re-imagined TV shows may not be as nauseatingly prolific as their cinematic counterparts, but they're getting pretty large in the number. "Hawaii Five-0" is the latest antique TV show to be dusted off and given a bold new 21st century facelift, and like many of the other more recent returns-to-TV -- "Battlestar Galactica," for instance -- "Five-0" is a quality show, perhaps not destined to be quite so legendary as its predecessor but certainly an entertaining vehicle that does well to show off good-looking actors running around a tropical paradise, fighting off with gun-in-hand danger and various criminal elements and enterprises in every episode. "Hawaii Five-0" is a standard action-oriented and character-driven police procedural; it's serial in nature, following a nearly identical formula through each standalone (generally) episode, eschewing a linear long-form narrative à la "Lost" in favor of carbon-copy singular entities that slowly build up the characters but most of which don't have a direct affect on past or future episodes. It's all good, though; the format works for a show such as this: new week, new adventure. Some are better than others -- the Pilot episode approaches high-quality Action movie level -- but each show is in its own way entertaining, even if it's just another of the many episodes dominated by strong character chemistry and slick action rather than any sort of compelling plot line.

Danger lurks around every Hawaiian corner.

Navy SEAL Steve McGarrett (Alex O'Loughlin) has captured one half of a brother tandem he's sought for five years. Unfortunately, bad guy Victor Hesse (James Marsters) has a plan to retrieve his brother Anton (Norman Reedus) from McGarrett's custody: threaten McGarret's father Jack (William Sadler). When a raid goes bad and McGarrett has no choice but to kill Anton, Victor murders Jack in cold blood. Now, back in Hawaii, McGarrett is approached by Governor Pat Jameson (Jean Smart) who asks him to form a task force that will answer only to her. It'll have carte blanche, work above the law, and have the full backing of the state government in fighting crime hard and fast. McGarrett's first candidate to join the team is a mainland native named Danny "Danno" Williams (Scott Caan) who's working the murder of McGarrett's father. The ex-SEAL also recruits a shunned hotshot cop named Chin Ho Kelly (Daniel Dae Kim) accused of siphoning drug money from evidence into his own pocket. The last member of the team is Chin's cousin, Kono Kalakaua (Grace Park), a raw fresh-from-the-academy cop who's as deadly and dangerous as she is gorgeous. The team, dubbed "Five-0," must use its collective skills, intuition, high technology, and good old fashioned police work to flush out and take down Hawaii's most dangerous criminal elements.

There's nothing groundbreaking to it, but "Hawaii Five-0" delivers sharp and easily-digestible entertainment that's easy on the eyes and not an assault on common sense. The show's plots often find themselves knee-deep in the use of modern technology in the fight against crime, but not at the expense of logic or in any way to the show's detriment. Instant fingerprinting technology, modern weaponry, and computer devices out the wazoo would seem to take the human element out of the show -- much of this wasn't there for the original -- but the series surprisingly and borderline expertly uses such goodies to enhance the show's plots and characters rather than dumb them down with the easy way out. Good old-fashioned police work, characterization, and action are all seamlessly integrated into the plots and play nicely with the influx of 21st century technology. This is a cutting edge show no doubt, but there's still more than merely a wink and a nod to the classic elements that made the original show work so well. Con artists, terrorists, prison escapees, and the like provide the spark that sets each episode afire, and much like the other elements, sometimes it's all very involved from a technological standpoint, and sometimes the crimes and the people who commit them demand something of a more blunt response where a bit of elbow grease and common sense are preferable to some high tech wizardry. That keeps things fresh, but there's nevertheless no doubt that the series's primary problem is its repetitiveness. It's basically "solve the crime of the week" through teamwork, gunplay, smarts, and that aforementioned technology. The characters usually find themselves bloodied and bruised but really no worse for wear. They grow closer together even as the show (sometimes) slogs along through formula, but at least in the case of "Hawaii Five-0" it's formula done exceptionally well.

"Hawaii Five-0" might be an Action series at its core, but the show is a success thanks to the quality of its characters and the work of the actors. The four primaries are marvelously developed and synchronized; only a few shows in and they feel like a real, gelled team, not just a collection of actors working together on a major television show. That's also a nod to the show's writing; while the actual plots may sometimes leave a bit to be desired -- it can only do "show a crime, solve a crime" so much before it starts to wear thin -- the characters continue to undergo structural, physical, and emotional development both on the group and individual levels. McGarrett's coping with the death of his father and Danno's continuing domestic dealings with his ex-wife and daughter -- not to mention his struggle to better fit into Hawaiian culture -- are neither original nor the show's soul or source of strength, but they're elements the series builds on as it progresses, elements other than lush landscapes and action scenes to give audiences something in which they may become emotionally invested. The interplay between Danno and McGarrett is a real strength, too; it's a love-hate sort of relationship with emphasis on the former and a more playful feel to the latter. Daniel Dae Kim's Chin is probably the show's most balanced character with the most interesting background -- a cop shunned by his peers for a crime he didn't commit -- and the most interesting dynamic belongs to Grace Park's Kono Kalakaua, a rookie officer thrust into a special unit right off the bat, the lone female of the group and perhaps the most challenged in many of the episodes. Of course, they're all motivated and highly intelligent, keen, observant, tough, sometimes funny, and sometimes perhaps a bit too clever for their own good; there are a few times where the show nearly falls into "MacGyver" sort of territory. Still, it works for the most part, and the cast does a great job of selling everything from the humor to the hardcore run-and-gun action. Combine that main cast with several name actor guest stars -- James Marsters, Peter Stormare, Norman Reedus, D.L. Hughley, Kevin Sorbo, and Dane Cook, to name but a few -- and "Hawaii Five-0" feels like a complete, satisfying television experience.

Perhaps the biggest challenge facing a show called "Hawaii Five-0" is the temptation to allow its setting to overwhelm the rest of the show. If not careful, the series could very easily slip into a comfort zone, relying on its namesake setting to carry things when the action slows down and the characters seemingly have nowhere to go. Fortunately, rarely does the show feel like a product of its setting. No doubt Hawaiian culture plays a large part of the show -- Danno's integration or lack thereof into it being one of the recurring themes -- but it's worked in rather made the focal point. That doesn't mean the show doesn't take advantage of its setting. To the contrary, the beautiful locales provide not only a backdrop but the occasional critical element to a storyline, but many of the plots seem like they would be right at home somewhere a bit more boring in an entertainment sense -- L.A., New York -- given a light rework. The show does counter the beaches and mountains and greenery with Hawaii's darker underbelly where many shady characters operate. Never is the show all about sun and fun; that "two sides to every coin" aspect is a real strength, and while the show doesn't alway go there, that balance helps offset the beauty and make it more special when an episode rightly makes it the focus.

Hawaii Five-0: The First Season Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

There are certainly a few rough patches along the way, but for the most part, "Hawaii Five-0: Season 1" looks great on Blu-ray. It suffers through that expectedly flat and glossy appearance that slows down many an HD video images, but the tradeoff is fantastic detail and coloring throughout. Facial textures are complex and highly detailed, while the many gorgeous Hawaiian locales -- trees, sandy beaches, rocks -- all look marvelous, even at a distance where separation and individual detailing remains high. Colors are incredibly vibrant and varied; the show is never wanting for a more diverse palette, and bright greens, flashy reds, and even sandy tans are all delivered with a natural shading that allows them to pop straight off the screen. Flesh tones favor a slightly warm bronze hue, and black levels are sturdy and never crush out details. Those darker scenes are often accompanied by a spiky noise field. Light banding and minor aliasing occasionally creep into the image, but such distractions are few and far between. Each episode looks marvelous, with many scenes worthy of the term "eye candy."

Hawaii Five-0: The First Season Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

"Hawaii Five-0: Season 1" boasts a quality DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack -- at least after the pilot episode. For what is probably the best episode of the season, the pilot's sound presentation is an absolute disappointment. The show's opening action sequence sounds dull and uninspired. Automatic weapons fire barely registers, explosions are puny, and the general din of chaos, well, there really is no general din of chaos. The entire episode -- whether music, dialogue, or those all-important action sound effects -- just comes off as puny and terribly shallow. There's no life or energy to it at all. Clarity isn't lacking, but there's no body to the sound, and volume is weak, even at reference levels. Fortunately, the sound picks up after the first episode. It takes only seconds into the second episode to realize that its track -- and all those that follow -- are a whole other animal. The series's theme music explodes from the speakers, ripping through the listening area and delivering a clear and energized presentation that spills from every speaker. The show's audible texture is markedly improved as ambience pulls the listener right into the Hawaii locales. There's an excellent sense of space to every element, whether music, atmosphere, or action. Gunfire improves greatly, playing with a crisp, hard-hitting sensation. Explosions are powerful and push the subwoofer to the limit. Dialogue is strong and perfectly balanced against all other elements. It's a real shame the pilot episode doesn't sound nearly as good. Half a point off for that, but this is otherwise pretty much a reference-grade television show soundtrack.

Hawaii Five-0: The First Season Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

"Hawaii Five-0: Season 1" contains some number of extras on every disc (and be on the lookout for easter eggs!).

Disc One:

• Audio Commentary: Executive Producer Peter Lenkov, Director Len Wiseman, and Executive Producer Roberto Orci discuss the series's pilot episode, speaking on shooting the show on digital, re-creating the series in the 21st century, casting the lead roles, their memories of the original show, shooting the various action scenes, and more.
• Pilot Episode Deleted Scenes (1080p, 3:50).
• Legacy (1080p, 11:39): A quality piece that looks at the series then and now, the importance of honoring the legacy of the original, the process of brining the cast and crew together, the main cast's chemistry, updating the series for the 21st century, increasing the level of action in the series, and more.
• Picture Perfect: The Making of the Pilot (1080p, 27:08): A lengthy feature that delves deeply into the process of making a memorable pilot episode, from the initial cast reading to the positive critical and fan reception the episode received.

Disc Two:

• Episode-Specific Deleted Scenes (1080p): "Nalowale" (2:18), "Ko'olauloa" (6:20), and "Mana'o" (1:14).

Disc Three:

• "Ke Kinohi" Deleted Scene (1080p, 0:38).

Disc Four:

• Episode-Specific Deleted Scenes (1080p): "E Malama" (8:41), "Powa Maka Moana" (2:44), and "Loa Aloha" (0:16).
• "E Malama" Audio Commentary: Director Brad Turner and Actors Alex O'Loughlin, Scott Caan, Daniel Dae Kim, Grace Park share their thoughts.

Disc Five:

• Episode-Specific Deleted Scenes (1080p): "Na Me'e Laua Na Paio" (4:18), "Ma Ke Kahakai" (5:54), "Ho'opa'i" (0:43), and ""Ho'ohuli Na'au" (0:54).

Disc Six:

• Oia'i'o Deleted Scenes (1080p, 2:04).
• Shore Lines: The Story of Season 1 (1080p, 30:27): Cast and crew discuss the process of making the show: fleshing out the characters, creating a procedural series, developing the characters arcs throughout the season, following up on the big pilot episode, the ideas behind various episodes and the nitty-gritty process of writing the show, the emotional arcs that run through the series, the quality work of the actors, the characters season-ending statuses, and the show's future.
• Aloha Action! (1080p, 15:15): A piece focused on making the show's many and complex action scenes.
• Grace Park's Hawaiian Tour (1080p, 5:24): The actress shows viewers around the sunny state and introduces them to the state's people and traditions.
• Gag Reel (1080p, 7:33).
• CBS On-Air Launch Promos (1080p, 3:41): Previews for the series.
• Eye Lab Online Launch Promos (1080p, 8:03): Web-based promos for the series.
• Re-Scoring the Theme Song (1080p, 1:43): Composer Brian Tyler leads his orchestra in an updated rendition of the original theme song.
• Inside the Box (1080p, 6:47): A look inside and an examination of the importance to the series of the tool box that appears in the pilot episode.
• Inside Comic-Con (1080p, 6:22): A "Hawaii Five-0" panel answers fan questions.

Hawaii Five-0: The First Season Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"Hawaii Five-0: Season 1" is certainly not groundbreaking television, but as an episodic Action series with a tropical backdrop, strong characters, and fine acting, it's more than serviceable. All that really matters here is that the show is entertaining, even if things get a bit repetitive at times. Most of these sorts of shows just can't hold their ground against the more linear building block shows like "Lost" and "Breaking Bad," but it's a good hourly (42 minutes or so here sans commercials) diversion and best enjoyed in small doses rather than in large chunks. CBS/Paramount's Blu-ray release of "Hawaii Five-0: Season 1" is a Best Buy exclusive. It features strong technical specs and supplements scattered throughout the entire six-disc set. Recommended.