Star Trek: Section 31 is firing on all cylinders

As the first non-theatrical Star Trek feature (one that debuted nearly a decade later Star Trek Beyond), Star Trek: Section 31 It feels like the kind of project that could have easily felt too “made for TV” to tell a satisfying story that does its characters justice. but Article 31 It’s firing on almost all cylinders, though discovery With that behind us at this point, the film charts an exciting new course for Star TrekPossible future.

Michelle Yeoh was an icon long ago Star Trek: DiscoveryBut her performance as Captain Philippa Georgiou was part of what revitalized her career and put her on track to win a much-deserved Oscar in 2023. discovery Following Yeoh’s exit in Season 3, there was hope that Georgiou’s story would continue when news first broke of CBS’ interest in another spinoff series with her as its centerpiece. Due to delays related to the COVID-19 pandemic, Paramount Plus’ Star Trek: Section 31 From director Olatunde Osunsanmi it has been remade into a film rather than a show – a move that crystallized discovery Executive Producer Alex Kurtzman’s optimistic vision For further explorations into this era of excellence.

You don’t really need to see discovery To dive in Article 31. But it’s certainly helpful to know a little about how, after the original Philippa Georgiou died in Season 1, her alternate universe counterpart took her place and brought a very different kind of energy to the USS Discovery. while main universeGeorgiou was a compassionate leader who believed in the mission of the Federation and Starfleet to explore the galaxy in peace. The weakness of her mirror world was a ruthless tyrant who embodied the fascism of the Terran Empire.

By the end discoveryIn the first season of, it was clear that Emperor Georgiou was turning over a new leaf and going on to become a part of it Article 31a secret team of agents assigned missions that conflict with Starfleet’s stated beliefs. Georgiou and the rest of Section 31 returned repeatedly discoveryLater seasons serve as morally questionable allies/foils for the show’s heroes. but Star Trek: Section 31 Explains how exactly Georgiou was convinced to join Starfleet’s secret team of deadly space spies.

most Article 31 The film takes place in Georgiou’s present, where she has become the owner of a seedy nightclub (which is also a spaceship) parked somewhere outside Starfleet’s jurisdiction. But the film begins in the past when young Georgiou (Mikko Martino) is one of many Terran children engaged in a battle royal meant to determine who will become the next leader of the Empire.

Other than fellow contestant San (James Hiroyuki Liao/James Huang in flashbacks), no one understands the pain that marked Georgiou’s adolescence. And while the adult Georgiou has come a long way since her days ruling the Terran Empire with an iron fist, she is still haunted by her memories of San and the things she did in her quest for power. Delving deeper into Georgiou’s backstory is one way Article 31 sets itself to work as both a continuation of the themes from discovery A starting point for this era Star Trek. It gives you a taste of the darkness that made it so compelling discovery The villain and the inner turmoil that gave way to her eventual anti-hero role. But it also helps you understand why Section 31 agent Alok (Omri Hardwick) sought to recruit Georgiou to his team for a top-secret mission that could use her. Her special skills.

For all Thorny philosophical questions about Starfleet and Star TrekBasic ideals Evoked by Section 31 (the organisation), there is a comic lightness in the film’s presentation of Alok’s team. Like Georgiou, the shapeshifter Quasi (Sam Richardson), the ersatz Vulcan Fuzz (Sven Ruygrok), and the telepath Melle (Humberly González) all have unique talents and ill-defined principles that make them ideal for doing Starfleet’s unofficial dirty work. But the goofy way they clash with exoskeleton pilot Zev (Robert Kaczynski) and human Starfleet officer Rachel Garrett (Casey Rohl) often makes this iteration of Section 31 feel like… GuardiansA group of misfits modeled after an elite squad of wet-works soldiers.

Serve this energy Article 31 Rather well because it illustrates the high-stakes heist that Alok needs Georgiou’s expertise to pull off. There’s a bioweapons engineer who has concocted something so dangerous that Starfleet (unofficially) sees killing him as acceptable action if it means Section 31 can secure its creation. But the film’s tendency to err on the comedic side makes it feel a bit awkward in the moments when it tries to get serious about Georgiou’s personal demons and what the existence of Section 31 really says. Star TrekFraming the union as a utopian community.

Yeoh clearly has a ball chewing up every bit of scenery she can get her hands on Article 31 She takes Georgiou out of her club – a place that seems like a brilliant merging of the two The fifth elementFhloston Paradise and star wars“The Galactic Senate – and drops her in the proverbial deep end. At times, the film’s mix of humor and flashy action sequences that lead to the deaths of a few members of Section 31 makes it seem as if Paramount wanted this to be shown on This way. Star TrekAnswer to Warner Bros. Suicide squad privilege.

It’s a fun atmosphere that gives the entire crew a chance to shake things up, but at any time Article 31 Slowing down to zoom in on Georgiou’s inner turmoil, you can feel how much substance these characters could have been if fleshed out over the course of the series.

Thanks to her, Star Trek: Section 31 It doesn’t exactly feel like a movie cobbled together from ideas from canceled TV shows. It works as a standalone story and leaves its surviving characters in a new status quo that seems ripe for further exploration in future projects. With a lot of the latest Star Trek With the shows having been canceled recently, it’s easy to imagine Paramount looking at it Article 31 feature as an experiment to see how interested viewers would be in seeing Giorgio mix it up from week to week.

This test run looks like a success because of the method Star Trek: Section 31 It leaves you wanting more, and while the full follow-up series may not be available, it could be the beginning of a new era of surprisingly entertaining streaming Star Trek Features.

Star Trek: Section 31 It arrives on Paramount Plus on January 24.