Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Star Trek: Section 31.
Star Trek’sfirst made-for-streaming movie,Star Trek: Section 31,has been met with mostly negative reviews from fans and critics. After departingStar Trek: Discoveryin season 3,Michelle Yeoh returns as Emperor Philippa Georgiou inSection 31,which takes place in the early24th century ofStar Trek’s"lost era.“After being sent back in time by the Guardian of Forever (Paul Guilfoyle), Georgiou ended up in the 24th century and now operates a nightclub. When Starfleet’s black ops intelligence organization learns of a powerful new weapon on the black market, they recruit Georgiou for help.
Star Trek: Section 31has some fun sci-fi actionsequences and introduces interesting new characters to the franchise. While it’s always great to see Michelle Yeoh’s Philippa Georgiou,Section 31ultimately fails to deliver a compellingStar Trekstory. On popular review aggregate websiteRotten Tomatoes,Star Trek: Section 31currently sits at a 20% score from criticsand an even worse 17% score from audiences. This makesSection 31the worstStar Trekfilmaccording to Rotten Tomatoes, just behindStar Trek V: The Final Frontier,which has a 23% critics score and a 25% audience score.
Here are the main issues critics and fans have withStar Trek: Section 31.
8Section 31 Is A Star Trek Movie In Name Only
Section 31 Just Doesn’t Feel Like A Star Trek Movie
PerhapsStar Trek: Section 31’sbiggest sin is that it doesn’t feel like aStar Trekmovie.Not only is it the firstTrekfilm that doesn’t feature the USS Enterprise in any way, butit also lacks the heart and humanityStar Trekis famous for.Since the earliest days ofStar Trek: The Original Series,the franchise has tackled tough moral questions, offered timely social commentary, and grappled with what it means to be human.
Michelle Yeoh’s Oscar-Winning Film Is More Star Trek Than Section 31
Everything Everywhere All At Once ultimately delivers a more successful and quintessentially Star Trek message than Star Trek: Section 31.
Section 31feels like any other sci-fi action movie,which isn’t what most viewers want when they sit down to watchStar Trek. As an organization, Section 31 was already a controversial addition to theStar Trekuniverse, andSection 31only features one main character who is involved in Starfleet. Not only isKacey Rohl’s Lt. Rachel Garrettthe most"Star Trek"character in the film, she’s also one of the strongest additions to the cast.
7Star Trek Fans Wanted Other Stories More Than Section 31
Fans Would Have Preferred Star Trek: Legacy
Paramount appears to be struggling when it comes to determining whatStar Trekfans actually want to see. While Michelle Yeoh’s Emperor Georgiou was one ofStar Trek: Discovery’smost popular characters, Section 31 has never been a particularly beloved element ofStar Trek.A film set duringStar Trek’s"lost era"could have explored numerous characters and events that have been hinted at throughout the franchise. Instead,Section 31’sconnections to pastStar Trekare tenuous at best,and the film answers very few questions about the early 24th century.
One of modernTrek’smost popular and well-received shows,Star Trek: Strange New Worlds,came about in part because the fan reception to Anson Mount’s Captain Christopher Pike was so positive.
Since theend ofStar Trek: Picardseason 3, fans have been clamoring for aStar Trek: Legacyspin-off following the adventures of the USS Enterprise-G and Captain Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan).This is the story manyStar Trekfans want to see onscreen,but Paramount has chosen to focus on other projects. With itsStar Trek: The Next Generationreunion,Picardseason 3 received overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics and fans, illustrating the types ofStar Trekstories most people want to see.
6Section 31 Doesn’t Work As An Entry Point For New Star Trek Fans
Section 31 Doesn’t Have The Context To Invite New Viewers Into Star Trek
Unlike J.J. Abrams’Star Trek(2009), which brought the franchise back to the big screen,Star Trek: Section 31does not work very well as a way to bring in newTrekfans. For one thing, the film works better if audiences are somewhat familiar withEmperor Georgiou and her character’s journeyonStar Trek: Discovery. Beyond that,Section 31teases a few connections to events and characters inStar Trek’spast,but doesn’t take the time to explain them.
Captain Rachel Garrett (portrayed by Tricia O’Neil) first appeared inStar Trek: The Next Generation’s"Yesterday’s Enterprise,” butSection 31does not do anything with this connection.
Section 31 Alpha Team leader Alok Sahar (Omari Hardwick), reveals that he fought in the Eugenics Wars and was later genetically enhanced.Star Trek’s timeline for the Eugenics Wars has gotten complicated over the years, but the events Alok mentions were first referenced onStar Trek: The Original Seriesin relation to Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalbán). Not only doesAlok’s backstory have very little bearing onSection 31’splot,but it also has little meaning without the context of pastTrek.
5Section 31’s Big Cast Lacks Character Development
Section 31 Characters, We Hardly Knew Ye
Star Trek: Section 31introduces a team of six new characters, which is too many for viewers to get to know well, especially considering the film’s less than two-hour runtime.None ofSection 31’s new characters get more than surface-level development,robbing anybetrayals and character deaths inSection 31from having the emotional impact they should. The Deltan Melle (Humberly González) suffers the most from this lack of development, as she has a lot of potential as a character, but is killed off far too quickly.
Star Trek: Section 31 Cast & Character Guide
Star Trek: Section 31 introduces a new team of operatives teaming up with Michelle Yeoh’s Emperor Georgiou to save the Federation from a new threat.
Robert Kazinsky’s Zeph suffers a similar fate, mostly serving as comic relief before his death. While the idea of a microscopic being piloting a robot body is an interesting one, Fuzz (Sven Ruygrok) never quite works as a character, either.Sam Richardson’s Quasi is fun,and thankfully survives to the end, but the film reveals very little about him or his Chameloid species. Most of these new characters are actually interesting, making their lack of development a major disappointment.
4Section 31 Has A Boring Star Trek Story
Star Trek Can Do Far Better Than This
Despite its quick pace and spy thriller premise,Star Trek: Section 31doesn’t tell a particularly engaging story. From the beginning, the film’s plot is predictable, with none of the supposed reveals coming across as shocking.The whole movie is a standard action moviethat is simply checking off boxes as it moves along.Star Trekis capable of far more than the dreary story presented inSection 31,making the whole experience that much more disappointing.
Star Trek: Section 31 Movie Sequel: Everything We Know
Star Trek: Section 31 is Paramount+’s first Star Trek streaming movie, but will Michelle Yeoh headline another movie as Emperor Georgiou?
WhileSection 31has some fun moments, they never quite coalesce into an exciting story. Throughout its nearly 60-year history,Star Trekhas told numerous stories following a group of characters racing to stop a dangerous weapon.And whileSection 31embraces a different tone than mostStar Trek,it doesn’t do anything particularly original with its story. While a derivative plot can be fine if the story builds strong connections to its characters,Section 31doesn’t do that well, either.
3Section 31 Began Life As A TV Series & You Can Tell
Section 31 Feels Pieced Together
The idea for aStar Trekproject starring Michelle Yeoh as Emperor Georgiou originally began as a television series, but these plans were derailed by the COVID-19 pandemic.Star Trek: Section 31presumably incorporates many elements from the proposed television series, although this has not been confirmed. In many ways,Section 31feels more like a two-part television series pilotthan a feature film.
“Spin-Off, Section 31, Philippa Georgiou”: Michelle Yeoh Personally Pitched Her Star Trek Return
Yeoh caught up with ScreenRant to discuss her return to Star Trek for Section 31 and dissect Philippa Georgiou’s mindset in the feature film.
In other ways, elements of the story feel disjointed and would have worked better if they had been spread out over several episodes. A series would have allowed more time to be spent developing Georgiou’s history withSan (James Hiroyuki Liao), for example, making his villain reveal have more impact.More time could have been spent developing the characters as well,which would have given their deaths more weight.
2Section 31 Doesn’t Know What Kind Of Movie It Is
Section 31 Is A Messy Mash-Up Of Ideas
Star Trek: Section 31has been pitched asGuardians of the GalaxymeetsMission: Impossible, but it doesn’t quite live up to either comparison.Section 31lacks the heart and lovable characters ofGuardians of the Galaxy,as well as the intense action, spy work, and shocking twists of theMission: Impossiblefranchise. With its morally questionable"heroes," Section 31also has elements ofSuicide Squad,but the film never settles on its own identity.
Section 31never decides what kind of film it wants to be.
Section 31tries to incorporate too many disparate elements, ultimatelyforgetting that it’s supposed to be, first and foremost, aStar Trekmovie.With Alok andGeorgiou’s dark backstories,Section 31dips into more serious territory, but undercuts it with humorous characters like Fuzz and Zeph. From an inconsistent tone to an unclear message,Section 31never decides what kind of film it wants to be and its story suffers for it.
1Section 31 Wastes Michelle Yeoh’s Star Trek Comeback
Michelle Yeoh Deserves Better Than Section 31
Having earned an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance inEverything Everywhere All At Once,Michelle Yeoh is undoubtedly an incredibly talented actress.Yeoh makes Georgiou the best thing aboutStar Trek: Section 31,but the film feels like a wasted opportunity. Yeoh has proven numerous times that she’s more than capable of leading a film, but the overly stuffed cast and jumbled plot ofSection 31do her no favors. While Michelle Yeoh appears to be having fun, many of her other roles have proven what she is capable of.
Section 31also wastes a surprise cameo fromEverything Everywhere’sJamie Lee Curtis as Section 31’s leader, Control.
Emperor Georgiou had a fascinating journey onStar Trek: Discovery,and the character deserved to return. ButYeoh’s long awaited comeback should have been so much more than what we got inSection 31.Georgiou’sStar Trekreemergence should have gone deeper and focused more on exploring her character’s growth and ever-changing motivations. It remains to be seen whetherSection 31will get a sequel, or whether Georgiou will remain inStar Treklimbo.Star Trek: Section 31has its moments, but the film ultimately feels hollow and left most fans and critics wanting more.
