Star Trek: Section 31

The television series “Star Trek: Discovery,” (2017-2024), introduced the character of “Captain Philippa Georgiou,” (Michelle Yeoh), in the very first episode. She was killed by a Klingon shortly into the first season. A few episodes later it was revealed that in the “Mirror Universe” the evil version of the character served as the Empress of the Terran Empire! Philippa was transported into the standard universe where she began working for Starfleet’s morally questionable secret service agency called “Section 31.” The evil Philippa Georgiou proved popular enough that there were serious discussions about putting her in a spin-off series, but that didn’t happen. In 2022 Michelle Yeoh appeared in the very popular science fiction feature film “Everything Everywhere All At Once,” and received the Academy Award for Best Actress. She was invited to revive the character of Philippa Georgiou in Star Trek’s first made-for-tv movie. Unfortunately the resulting film was almost universally regarded as a disaster.

This week’s movie was “Star Trek: Section 31” from the Paramount + streaming service, first available on January 24, 2025. It was directed by Olatunde Osunsami from a script by Craig Sweeny, based on a story by Bo Yeon Kim and Erika Lippoldt. Philippa Georgiou is now operating a space station nightclub called “Baraam” outside Federation space. Section 31’s Alpha Team is sent to return Georgiou to active duty to recover a doomsday weapon called the “Godsend” that has passed over from the Mirror Universe. Alpha Team is led by “Alok,” (Omari Hardwick), a survivor of the “Eugenics Wars” of the 20th Century. He is joined by a shape-shifting “Chameloid” named “Quasi,” (Sam Richardson), a sexy “Deltan” named “Melle,” (Humberly Gonzalez), a man in an armored exoskeleton named “Zeph,” (Robert Kazinsky), and a Starfleet science officer named “Rachel Garrett,” (Kacey Rohl). The strangest member of the team appears to be a giggling blond-haired Vulcan with an Irish accent, but “Fuzz,” (Sven Ruygrok), is actually a robot piloted by a microscopic “Nanokin” also named “Fuzz.” The villain is “San,” (James Hiroyuki Liao), who is also from the Mirror Universe and is the only man Philippa ever loved.

Although this movie is set in the Star Trek Universe, it feels more like a Marvel Superhero Team story. In place of a plotline there are a long series of fight scenes and space battles, none of which are very engaging. The movie also follows an unsatisfying trend in modern cinema by giving an irredeemably evil character an origin story to explain away the nastiness and make them sympathetic. The worst mistake in this picture is that it makes heroes out of the agents of Section 31. In the previous appearances of Section 31 in the Star Trek Universe it is made clear that this organization is contemptible and immoral.

Star Trek has always appealed to the more noble angels of human character. It is a program about ideas and about idealism. This is a dumb and trashy action movie aimed at the lowest of human traits. The characters are unconvincing and often unlikable, the plot is unimaginative and the acting and dialogue are unimpressive. This is the worst example of Star Trek so far, and Alex Kurtzman should be ashamed for polluting Gene Roddenberry’s creation with this embarrassment.

Jamie Lee Curtis puts in a brief appearance as “Control,” the leader of Section 31. Her performance has none of the depth or the darkness the character requires. Instead she behaves in a silly and comical manner. It reminds me of her acting in the movie “Freaky Friday.”

Augusto Bitter plays “Virgil,” Georgiou’s assistant in the Baraam nightclub. He is the first representative of the Cheronian species to appear in Star Trek since 1969.