Was John Cho perfect for Sulu or what?

[Cyke101]

john cho was not a good sulu. especially with his hidden talent for fighting. he just looked too geeky looking. mind you, the ship on the drilling platform was awesome, but for me john cho' will always be associated with American Pie and the "Milf" comment and also Harold and Kumar. maybe they could've gotten Daniel Henney aka Agent 0, that Asian guy from Wolverine with the guns.

Wouldn't you think that Cho would take on the role partially to combat typecasting?

That being said, the funniest thing I read in a long time on TrekBBS was the one poster claiming stereotypes and backward thinking and Roddenberry spinning in his grave because they made Sulu capable of handling himself in a fight. As if somehow making him a pussy who gets his ass handed to him would somehow be culturally sensitive.

It's like the guy who said Corporal Yo from Beetle Bailey was racism because he was ten times smarter and more efficient than the white characters.

Speaking as an Asian American, I'd like to have a word with whoever this poster is. There's nothing wrong if an Asian knows how to fight or is unusually intelligent, as long as that's not the only thing that makes him interesting.

 

[Aragorn]

^ Part one of my post was some poster on this forum. I don't remember who it was, but it was very early on in Star Trek's release.

The second part was some new magazine show from quite some time ago, maybe 20/20, that had a segment about stereotypes and some Asian American guy was saying Corporal Yo was an offensive stereotype for being better than the white characters.

 

[Lynn Minmay]

He was a GREAT Sulu but I just can't get Harold out of the back of my head.

There aren't too many Asian-American mainstream actors out there anyways.

Besides, he's worked with JJ Abrams before.

 

[seigezunt]

I still insist that Sulu is part Filipino. With that said, I don't blame Takei for his non-Filipino-ness

That is said somewhere. The Making of Star Trek. I'm with Herb Solow on this. I wasn't so impressed with his performance, but then there wasn't a lot to perform. He was OK, but he didn't have the Takei charisma.

 

[Cyke101]

^ Part one of my post was some poster on this forum. I don't remember who it was, but it was very early on in Star Trek's release.

The second part was some new magazine show from quite some time ago, maybe 20/20, that had a segment about stereotypes and some Asian American guy was saying Corporal Yo was an offensive stereotype for being better than the white characters.

I'm unfamiliar with Corporal Yo. If he was created solely for being the token nerd or such, then yeah, that would be offensive. But if he has something else going for him, like his intelligence being a huge asset rather than a socially crippling detriment, then okay. However, it *is* a newspaper comic strip and there's not a lot of room for quick character development.

 

[Jeri]

To the OP: I've seen the movie 11 times; and Sulu is still pretty much a blank. I don't understand what Cho's up to yet.

 

[Anticitizen]

Didn't he have something like 3 lines?

 

[Kpnuts]

WTF are some of you talking about?

He sky dives, he helps damage the drill, he pilots the ship, he flies it out of Titan's atmosphere, he takes command of the ship and comes to the rescue of Spock

FFS, Uhura actually had nothing to do, apart from be a love interest.

Scotty beamed a few people here and there and ejected the core(s)

Bones didn't actually do a great deal to advance the plot.

... and people say SULU had nothing to do??

 

[Jeri]

I enjoyed Sulu's scenes, but I feel like Cho is bored with the character.

 

[indranee]

^I'm not surprised if he's bored. you have to admit he had less to do in this movie than he did in either of the Harold and Kumar ones.

 

[KimMH]

Cho did seem a little underutilized. I also was also disappointed about the voice - Takei's is so iconic - maybe that made the part of Sulu such a standout - being Asian notwithstanding.

a WOC (Korean), I am always glad to see Koreans in Trek but wonder that a Korean was chosen to play a Japanese character here and in Ent where Hoshi Sato is played by another Korean. And of course Harry Kim of Voyager. Not complaining at all - just wondering.

 

[mythicdove]

From what we saw of him, yes I thought he was amazing. I hope in the next one we see more of him.

I really liked Sulu/John this time out.

Still love George though.

 

[Jeri]

^I'm not surprised if he's bored. you have to admit he had less to do in this movie than he did in either of the Harold and Kumar ones.

That's kinda my line of thought.

 

[Captain Randy Hall]

I know he's Korean and not Japanese but doesn't matter, i thought he nailed the role.

I thought he was great in the role, but the one I'd like to have seen recast was Chekov (with Andy Bray from New Voyages/Phase II), but that's not to say I didn't like the one they had, even though his accent was so thick even the computer couldn't understand him.

 

[Steven Of Nine]

Yes, yes he was perfect.

As to Korean/Japanese... so what. This is Star Trek, not a Klan meeting.

 

[TK421]

I thought he was a better Sulu than Takei actually.

 

[KimMH]

Yes, yes he was perfect.

As to Korean/Japanese... so what. This is Star Trek, not a Klan meeting.

I said not complaining - just wondering. Are you saying I'm racist because I'm proud to be Korean? I am sorry if that is what you or any other reader inferred.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

This is the first film I've seen John Cho in, but he was pretty good as Sulu.

My first pick (don't kill me, oldstredshrtevr) would have been Daniel Dae Kim, i.e. Corporal Chang from ENT and Gotana-Retz from that Voyager episode "Blink of an Eye". Yes, I know he's Korean as well, but I am not very familiar with authentic Japanese actors, so DDK was the only name I could come up with. And he's got a proven Trek track record.

Besides, Sulu was from San Francisco anyway, so who really cares?

 

[Starbreaker]

It wasn't much of a role, and was probably stunt casting to get the potheads into the theater, but he did a good job!

 

[KimMH]

This is the first film I've seen John Cho in, but he was pretty good as Sulu.

My first pick (don't kill me, oldstredshrtevr) would have been Daniel Dae Kim, i.e. Corporal Chang from ENT and Gotana-Retz from that Voyager episode "Blink of an Eye". Yes, I know he's Korean as well, but I am not very familiar with authentic Japanese actors, so DDK was the only name I could come up with. And he's got a proven Trek track record.

Besides, Sulu was from San Francisco anyway, so who really cares?

I'm poorer at expressing myself than I thought - I am delighted so many Koreans have found work with the ST franchise. (Being Korean myself as per my prior posts).

I think Daniel Dae Kim would be a great Sulu - he was great in the Voyager epi about the planet caught in a temporal anomaly.