'Star Trek: Section 31' Spoiler Review

TV & Film

Apr 3

Star Trek: Section 31 is the franchise’s first made for TV movie. It’s basically a spinoff of Star Trek: Discovery. And it’s basically what you’d expect from Discovery and Nu-Trek in general. It’s flashy with a lot of fights and a lot of exposition.

The film opens with a flashback to how Philipa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh) becomes emperor of the Terran Empire in the Mirror Universe. It is through a Hunger Games-like competition which we don’t see on screen. Then Georgiou kills her family, which we do see. When she is pronounced Emperor, the first thing she does is maim her one true love, San.

RELATED:

Featured

'Star Trek: Section 31' Official Trailer Drops Featuring Michelle Yeoh

This whole scene doesn’t really make sense. In all the prior trips to the Mirror Universe, it is implied that the way to become emperor is to kill the emperor. Introducing a contest is too egalitarian, even if it is a bloody and cruel contest.

Next, we come to the present of the movie, 2257. Georgiou is in her bar/space station, Baram. A man named Alok (Omari Hardwick) asks for an audience to try to recruit Georgiou to Section 31. Georgiou is a step ahead of Alok, already having spotted his whole team. Zeph (Robert Kazinsky) is a mech, a man integrated with an exoskeleton. He’s the muscle. Fuzz (Sven Ruygrok) is a nanoken, an intelligent microorganism who rides around in a Vulcan-like robot. Rachel Garret (Kacey Rohl) is the Starfleet liaison. Quasi (Sam Richardson) is a shapeshifter. And Melle (Humberly González) is a Deltan. Alok wants Georgiou to help stop the sale of a superweapon that is to happen on the station.

The movie is fine so far. A little talky, but fine. Then we get the first fight scene. Section 31 successfully stops the sale but is interrupted by a mysterious stranger who tries to steal the superweapon. Georgiou and the stranger phase in and out of normal space while they fight. Melle is killed, but her death is a waste. We haven’t gotten to know her at all. There is no emotion attached to it, nor is there any plot reason to kill her. At the end of the fight, they lose the superweapon, but Georgiou gets a look at it.

There is another flashback. Georgiou, it turns out, had the weapon built while emperor of the Terran Empire. In the flashback, San delivers the weapon to Georgiou and seemingly kills himself. The weapon is called the Godsend or the God’s End. There is a funny scene where they try to figure out which, but the question is never answered. Basically, everything is worse than Section 31 thought. The weapon can wipe out an entire quadrant.

After that, the team discovers that there is a mole in the group. There’s a lot of finger pointing and misdirection. Ultimately, Fuzz is the mole and he kills Zeph. They discover that the Godsend is there as part of a plot for the Mirror Universe Terrans to take over our universe. The rest of the movie is basically chases and battles until Georgiou uses the Godsend to permanently close the portal to the Mirror Universe.

In the process, we discover that San is still alive and behind the plot. After a prolonged fight, Georgiou accidentally kills him. Again, it’s a death without any emotional stakes. And Fuzz is seemingly blown up, but we are told that very small things sometimes survive very big explosions. Finally, the movie is set up for a sequel. The team gathers back at Georgiou’s bar, and is given a new mission by Control, played by Jamie Lee Curtis of all people.

Section 31 is one of those movies that just doesn’t make any sense. The only way to enjoy it is to turn your brain off and forget that it’s supposed to be Star Trek. The acting is fine for what it is. Although, the scenery must have been delicious. The direction is also fine. All of the problems come from the writers, Craig Sweeny, Bo Yeon Kim, an Erika Lippoldt.

Overall, I kind of hated this movie. However, I’ll bet fans of Discovery enjoyed it. Knowing that tempers my review. I’m just not the intended audience. So, I’ll be generous.