Paramount+
In 2025, how do we define “Star Trek”? This is a question that may resonate with fans after watching the latest Paramount+ movie, “Star Trek: Section 31.” This film takes the beloved science fiction franchise to areas unexplored. It hurls us beyond the Federation’s boundaries, where familiar Starfleet characters are few and far between. We’re thrust into an unchartered corner of the Trek universe. It’s lawless, violent, and gleefully devoid of the “ethics” and “utopian ideals” that pervade Gene Roddenberry’s works. “Star Trek” has always depicted the galaxy’s potential for brutality, usually through the lens of its principled leaders and scientists. However, “Section 31” takes a different approach, depicting a universe saved by ferocious individuals capable of navigating dangerous situations through brute force.
Does this still count as “Star Trek” if it’s set in the Star Trek universe while deliberately eschewing the elements that typically define it? It’s a question that “Section 31” is likely to ignite among fans. But, taken in isolation, “Section 31” does deliver certain goods. It offers a highly entertaining piece of B-movie action, redolent of “Gerard Butler in January,” unlike anything else bearing the Trek name. It’s goofy, silly, and often absurd, but the sheer joy it evokes is undeniable.
Star Trek’s B-Movie Sleaze Phase
Paramount+
“Section 31” is technically a spin-off of the recently concluded “Star Trek: Discovery,” primarily created by “Disco” veterans, including writer Craig Sweeny and director Olatunde Osunsanmi. The film puts one of Trek’s most unpredictable characters, Michelle Yeoh’s Philippa Georgiou, at the center of the action. Georgiou, a bloodthirsty tyrant from the notorious “Mirror Universe” now stranded in Trek’s prime universe, is once again enlisted by Section 31 (Starfleet’s CIA-like black ops division) for a mission of utmost importance. Accompanied by a motley crew of unstable misfits and a single Starfleet overseer, she is tasked with saving the galaxy, free from the moral constraints that would bother Picard and Spock.
“Section 31” clearly aims to draw action fans beyond the core Trek audience. The initial setup echoes “Mission: Impossible” or “Fast & Furious,” but the streaming budget and overall grunginess better match B-movie junk like “Den of Thieves.” And that’s okay. “Star Trek” shines brightest when it’s smaller, more unusual, and offbeat. Despite “Section 31” apparently trying to be the coolest thing around, it’s actually quite geeky, leaning heavily on franchise trivia as much as sword fights, phaser battles, and Michelle Yeoh’s face-kicking prowess. In short, a non-geeky “Star Trek” wouldn’t be “Star Trek.”
Truth be told, “nerdy B-movie sleaze” is a new flavor of Trek that I found myself increasingly enjoying as the film’s frenetic pace carried me from one set piece to another.
A Cast of Star Trek Miscreants Worth Dying For
Paramount+
As expected, “Section 31” is essentially the Michelle Yeoh show, with her slipping into the role of Georgiou like a sharp, vampy, blood-drenched glove. Either you relish watching Yeoh strut, kick, and smirk through action scenes, or you lack taste. One of the pleasant surprises of “Section 31” is the cast of new characters demanding equal attention surrounding her. Omari Hardwick offers solid grounding as the team’s resident “normal guy,” although his backstory is intriguing enough to pique interest if you’re familiar with Trek lore. Kacey Rohl delights as the by-the-book Starfleet representative Rachel Garrett (a recognizable name for fans), whose “if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em” descent to her colleagues’ level provides some of the movie’s biggest laughs. No one quite gets the assignment like Sam Richardson, whose shape-shifting, immoral scientist is a hoot in almost every scene. The most significant compliment I can give this team of reprobates is that I’d gladly watch them in another adventure, and the film does leave room for a sequel.
However, the entire project does have a distinct “backdoor pilot” flavor, which makes sense since “Section 31” was initially intended to be a streaming series before it pivoted to a direct-to-video movie equivalent. The action scenes often push against the constraints of its smaller budget, although Osunsanmi does his best to let the zany action go as hard as possible, even if the visual effects budget can’t quite keep pace. In this instance, I appreciated that the film would rather look cheap than polished if it means achieving some of the more outrageous action beats. Trek fans accustomed to the sheen of “Strange New Worlds” might be shocked, but the spontaneous cheapness of “Section 31” is really a badge of honor, just like the Original Series in the ’60s, “Section 31” always aims to outpace its budget.
Star Trek: Section 31 and the Question of What Defines Star Trek
Paramount+
So, we return to the opening question of this review. What defines “Star Trek” in 2025, and does something as divergent as “Section 31” qualify as “Star Trek”? While it’s certainly not my preferred taste of Trek, and one I’d hate to see become the default tone, this franchise is built on diversity. If “The Next Generation” could intersperse complex tales of ethics and science around goofy episodes where the crew are transported into the tale of Robin Hood by a god-like alien with a poor sense of humor, surely Trek can dip into action trash mode for a TV movie. Any rewatch of the Original Series reminds us that “Star Trek,” for all its lofty ideals, is built on a gleeful, shaky foundation of incredible junk. The beauty of “Star Trek” is that it’s somewhat everything, and we’ll argue about the nature of that everything until the sun burns out.
So here I am, recommending “Star Trek: Section 31,” aware that it may alienate many Trek
Credit: www.slashfilm.com
