Many “Star Trek” fans were more than a little skeptical of the announcement of a new television film in the franchise focused on Section 31. For those unfamiliar with the intricacies of “Trek” lore, Section 31 is a covert black ops department within the United Federation of Planets (which includes Earth), dedicated to eliminating threats to the integrity and even the supremacy of the Federation using any means necessary. Since Section 31’s introduction in the “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” episode “Inquisition,” fans have been conflicted about the inclusion of a morally ambivalent —sometimes outright fascist — group that is allowed to operate, albeit in secret, within the utopian-leaning Federation. Many felt that Section 31 was a betrayal of the ideals held up in the series as inherent to Federation culture and Starfleet operations, although they were comforted by the fact that Section 31 often acted as an antagonist in its various iterations in the franchise.
So it should serve as a pleasant surprise that “Star Trek: Section 31” arrives full of nuance and charm.
Viewers actually do not need to know any Section 31 lore or have watched “Star Trek: Discovery” — the “Trek” series from which the film is spun off — to understand what is happening in the film, although, if you have, some of the emotional stakes will hit harder. The film itself quickly brings viewers up to speed via a communication from Section 31 command to Alok Sahar (Omari Hardwick), the leader of a covert ops team. He is instructed to recruit Phillipa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh). Georgiou has been a character in “Discovery” since the first season: the briefing quickly recaps the reveal that she was the emperor of the Terran Empire in the Mirror Universe (you know, the evil Earth one where Spock had a beard, and Uhura had a thigh dagger), and that she was brought to the prime universe, became an agent for Section 31, saved the universe, traveled forward in time, traveled back in time and now is the owner of a nightclub (a lot happens in “Discovery”). Alok reluctantly recruits Georgiou and they, along with their team of misfits, must track down a terrifying weapon before it can be used to destroy the Federation.
It’s a simple but effective premise. Despite its title, the film is barely about Section 31, the division being more of a plot device to get all these characters together and on mission. The film —directed and written by “Discovery” alums Olatunde Osunsanmi and Craig Sweeny — is actually more about Georgiou herself.
One of the franchise’s most complicated characters, Georgiou is not traditional Starfleet material. “Discovery” established that when she was emperor in the Mirror Universe, she was a horrific dictator who committed genocide on multiple planets. This kind of character bio is typically reserved for the quintessential “Star Trek” villain. However, she became a fan favorite in Season 2 of “Discovery,” mainly because of Yeoh’s natural charisma —“evil mommy” is how I can best describe her vibe — and her chemistry with the show’s protagonist Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green). Her bond with Michael and other characters in the series caused her to begin questioning her “might makes right” Terran values and to act in more ethical, although not too ethical, ways.
“Section 31” continues Georgiou’s arc from lawful evil to chaotic neutral. For one thing, as the film’s opening flashback reveals, she became emperor of the Terran empire after decimating her opposition in a “Hunger Games”-like combat competition, poisoning her family to eliminate any potential weaknesses and subjugating her boyfriend — San (played as a teenager by James Huang and as an adult by James Hiroyuki Liao), the Peeta to her Katniss — to servitude. It’s brutal, but it is a look into why Georgiou is the way she is. In order to survive, Georgiou had to embody Nietzsche’s master morality that forms the basis of the Terran empire: “the girl I knew has been murdered,” as San laments.
The film doesn’t excuse her past actions. In fact, she grapples with the idea of what it means to “be infected with a conscience” in this new universe where more is expected of her. This mission confronts her with her own culpability: She is the one who ordered the creation of the movie’s McGuffin —the weapon of mass destruction the team is tasked to find — when she was emperor, a weapon so evil that its makers committed suicide on its completion. Can she atone for that? Or, at least, choose to be better? Underneath all that arrogant bravado (“I’m the only one I could never defeat”) is a deeply tragic figure that can no longer deny the consequences of her actions.
Despite all of this deep, philosophical exploration of character, Georgiou and the movie are also just plain fun. It’s a spy thriller, a genre not often utilized by “Star Trek,” complete with a mole hunt and the fast tempos and pulsing rhythms of a spy score, composed by Jeff Russo. While Section 31 was originally introduced as a way to foil spy fiction with a more realistic look at how spycraft works, this film leans into a more “Mission: Impossible” style fantasy, complete with gadgets and stunts. The film is divided into “chapters” with titles like “One Night in Baraam” and “The Godsend,” reminiscent of the films of Quentin Tarantino and a nod back to the spinoff series origins of the film. There are some wonderful set pieces that show off Yeoh’s formidable action chops, including a kinetic brawl in Georgiou’s night club where she wears the most magnificent cape ever seen in a “Star Trek.” It’s a “Star Wars” level cape.
The other characters on the team provide great support to Georgiou in their various shades of moral alignment. One is recognizable by name to fans as Rachel Garrett (Kacey Rohl), future captain of the Enterprise-C from the classic “Star Trek: The Next Generation” episode “Yesterday’s Enterprise.” The uptight representative of Starfleet, she’s there to make sure the team doesn’t violate any ethical boundaries — she has to tell Georgiou multiple times not to assassinate anyone — but she clearly also struggles with following strict procedure in the face of complex situations. Other characters are original to the film, including the neurotic shapeshifter Quasi (Sam Richardson), Deltan honey trap Melle (Humberly González), himbo mech-head Fuzz (Sven Ruygrok) and a-nano-species-inside-a-robot-Vulcan Zeph (Robert Kazinsky), who inexplicably speaks with an Irish accent. Alok himself is a survivor of the often referenced Eugenics Wars; he’s genetically augmented and, thus, is not allowed to officially join Starfleet. He is suspicious of Georgiou because he’s met dictators before and is unsure if she can be redeemed, but there is also genuine connection and chemistry between them, an understanding of the horrors of being forced to be part of a paradigm that they now regret.
The group becomes, well, maybe not a family, but certainly a team that respects each other for who they are, not who they were.
The first “Star Trek” film in almost 10 years — yes, Justin Lin’s “Star Trek: Beyond” was released in 2016 – “Section 31” is under a lot of pressure, but, despite my initial reservations, it manages to stick the landing. My only critique is that I wish this was a series as originally intended as I would love to spend more time with these characters. Using Section 31 is a clever way of interrogating redemption arcs and who utopias allow to be included, but the film resists the urge to give into the cynicism that has irked fans of “Star Trek” about the organization in the past. “Star Trek: Section 31” has a distinct personality while still feeling like a “Trek” film, with characters outside of the normal scope of the franchise.
“Star Trek: Section 31” premieres Friday, Jan. 24, on Paramount+.
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