Hawaii Five-0

This is an excellent remake featuring two actors--Caan and O'Loughlin--who almost seem made for each other.

CBS has presented viewers with an exciting gift this fall. Their "Five-0" update not only doesn't stink, it's an action-packed, easy-on-the-eyes thrill ride that is slicker and sexier than the original series that aired from 1968 to '80.

So far, O'Loughlin has come most alive when he's engaged in the premiere's close-quarters, elbow-chopping fight scenes. But it's clear that, like other CBS shows from NCIS to CSI, the team byplay is going to be the heart of Hawaii Five-0. Thank goodness Caan is here to provide gruff humor, and Kim and Park play off each other nicely.

They make an appealing team, and it doesn't hurt that they're chasing bad guys through the breathtaking--and HDTV-ready--beauty of Hawaii. There's nothing groundbreaking going on here, just old-fashioned action-adventure fun. New old-fashioned fun, that is.

It ain't deep, but the new Five-0 has the setting, it has the style and it has the cast to work.

O'Loughlin's by-the-book performance is buoyed by a fast-paced script and a splendid supporting cast, including and especially Scott Caan as Danno, that radiates enough hit-making energy to render even Oahu's azure waters and perfect sunsets superfluous.

It's an awfully attractive cast, and while the pilot has an often grim tone, it's enjoyable to watch and should fit comfortably into the NCIS network's schedule.

Hawaii Five-0 is a big bag of dumb fun, with a story told as tautly and smoothly as the surface of a Polynesian drum.

For those who loved the original series, the theme song is intact, and the phrase "Book 'em, Danno" isn't used lightly. Other than that, this "Hawaii Five-0 2.0" is its own beast, slow-roasted in the ground until it's ready for crowd-pleasing perfection.

The ingredients for eye-rolling failure are all here: Sample dialogue: "Your superiors say that you're the best they've ever seen"; foreign terrorists for bad guys; one female team member who makes Maggie Q from "Nikita" look like a prissy hack, and, oh, yes--it's an election year. But Hawaii Five-O works, and for one reason: Scott Caan, who is the second coming of cool.

O'Loughlin's an impressively taciturn, tense presence" You get the sense that McGarrett could go to a luau and still experience it as a hurt locker. As McGarrett's sidekick Danno, Scott Caan is the opposite: all quick, bantam energy. He steals scenes as coolly as surfers catch waves. [27 Sep 2010, p.53]

While Hawaii Five-0 Mark II has none of its predecessor's cringe factor, the classic theme music retains its blood-rushing quality with a sharp, updated recording. And when McGarrett first utters the infamous line, "Book 'em Danno," we dare you not to let a little grin escape.

It is, by default, one of the better new shows on the big networks, and it does what it's trying to do very well. But what it's trying to do is very limited in its aims and upside.

This remake keeps the scenery and action--exploding cars and AK-47 gunfights appear to be to Honolulu what thieving politicians and senile I-95 motorists are to Miami--but adds some compelling post-9/11 wrinkles.

While some criminals may escape, it's all happening in sunny Hawaii; and every time bad guys kick up a fuss, we know the good guys will kick back harder. The closing line, 'Book 'em, Danno,' may be a cultural joke, but it also sounds good as a promise.