In Star Trek: Section 31, Michelle Yeoh reprises her role from Star Trek: Discovery. Philippa Georgiou was the ruthless Emperor of The Terran Empire in the parallel Mirror Universe. In Star Trek: Discovery, she made her way to the Prime Universe, and ultimately joined the Starfleet and Section 31. This covert off-the-books division takes care of the situations that the United Federation of Planets can’t publicly or officially handle itself.
A few years earlier, the Federation lost contact with Georgiou, but has recently discovered that she’s been using an alias and running the space station Baraam in a border territory outside of Federation space. A mysterious new threat has hit the black market, and Section 31’s Alpha Squad has been given 24 hours to identify the nature of this threat and neutralize it. To do so, they’re going to need Georgiou’s help. The Alpha team is comprised of various misfits from around the galaxy, Heading up the squad is Alok Sahar (Omari Hardwick), a Section 31 agent from the 20th century. The rest of the operatives include green-blooded Chameloid shapeshifter Quasi (Sam Richardson); bald and beautiful Delton honey trap Melle (Humberly González); mech-suit wearing soldier Zeph (Robert Kazinsky) who’s high on artillery and low on IQ; an Irish-sounding Vulcan named Fuzz (Sven Ruygrok) who’s actually just a tiny Nonokin using the Vulcan body as his ship; and the by-the-book human Lieutenant Rachel Garrett (Kacey Rohl)—future captain of the USS Enterprise-C.
While the squad tries to be covert as they observe Georgiou, they quickly realize that she’s already two steps ahead of them. Georgiou ultimately agrees to help with the mission, but soon discovers that the black market threat they are looking for, the “Godsend”, has ties to her own past, which forces her to confront some painful memories. Meanwhile, the mission is thrown into turmoil as paranoia sets in when the crew discovers that there is mole among them, and they don’t know who they can trust. Will they be able to stop the Godsend from falling into the wrong hands, or will the mole systematically take them all out before they have a chance?
I am more of a casual Star Trek viewer, so I was not completely familiar with Section 31 or how it has been portrayed in the past. Previously, it was more of a secretive CIA black-ops type of organization, as first seen in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. But in this film, Section 31 feels more like the Suicide Squad or Guardians of the Galaxy, with a band of diverse misfits, who don’t quite get along, being forced to do so for the sake of the mission. The tone of this film is quite unlike any other live action Star Trek property, bringing in a lot of humor. Sometimes this works well, especially when you cast comedic actors like Sam Richardson. Michelle Yeoh has also shown over the years that she, too can find that blend between action, drama and humor. Though at times this didn’t quite feel quite like that same Philippa Georgiou from Discovery—she’s got purple hair and is a bit too wacky. I also found some of the characters, such as Fuzz with his excessive and over-the-top Irish accent, to be a bit grating at times. That said, the ensemble does eventually mesh and work well together.
Where this film really excels is in the more serious moments, particularly the film’s opening sequence that takes a fascinating look back at Philippa Georgiou’s past on the Terran Empire, and the horrible things she was forced to do while being tested to become Emperor at a young age. Over the course of the film we discover how those choices both turned her into the ruthless person she became, and how those choices are now coming back to haunt her in the present. Michelle Yeoh is really able to showcase her skills when it comes to the well-choreographed and exciting action-packed fight scenes, What I liked about the more serious moments in the film, is that it felt like there were actually real stakes to this mission, as the mole starts taking out some members of the team. However, the gravity is sometimes undercut with a little too much humor. I kind of wish the film had kept with this more serious tone rather than a lot of the wackiness and physical humor.
Star Trek: Section 31 was originally announced to be a spin-off series from Star Trek: Discovery, but after years of being in that mysterious black hole of “development”, it was finally announced that we were getting this movie instead. That said, the film feels like it was still deigned with TV in mind, with a bit of a cliffhanger/reveal halfway through if they wanted to air as two episodes, and the ending felt very much like a pilot setting things up for more adventures. I would watch more, as long as the tone was a little more consistent, and preferably leaning more serious.
CBS/Paramount Home Entertainment has released Star Trek: Section 31 on 4K UHD/Blu-ray Combo Pack in both SteelBook and standard packaging, as well as on DVD. I was sent the 4K SteelBook edition for review. The presentation looks and sounds fantastic. The picture is clean and detailed—it looks nearly flawless, though a the filmmakers get a bit excessive with the lens flares and direct sunlight (must have been fans of the J.J. Abrams Star Trek). The scenes with the Terran Empire really showcase the use of the Dolby Vision color palate. The audio track provides clear dialogue and as well as a thoroughly-immersive experience, filling the room with the ambiance of the space station, ship or planets, and enhancing the excitement of the action sequences.
The 4K and Blu-ray discs are placed overlapping on pegs on the right side of the beautiful Steelbook case, which is covered with a J-card detailing the contents on the back. An insert provides instructions on how to redeem a 4K digital copy of the film via Fandango at Home. Both discs contain the same bonus material, which consists of over 75 minutes of behind-the-scenes featurettes with the cast and crew as well as a fun gag reel.
What’s Included:
Film: (1:35:18)
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4K UHD:
- Dolby Vision / HDR10
- 2160p / Widescreen 2.39:1
- Audio: English Dolby Atmos, German 5.1 Dolby Digital, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, Japanese 5.1 Dolby Digital
- Subtitles: English SDH, German, French, Japanese
- 1080p / Widescreen 2.39:1
- Audio: English Dolby Atmos, German 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, Italian 5.1 Dolby Digital, Japanese 5.1 Dolby Digital
- Subtitles: English SDH, Danish, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese, Dutch, Norwegian, Finnish, Swedish
- 4K Digital Copy redeemable via Fandango at Home (not Movies Anywhere compatible)
Blu-ray:
Digital (Code subject to expiration, may not be valid after 4/29/2027):
Extras:
- Alpha Squad (26:26)
The cast and crew discuss the various oddball characters that make up the squad—Alok, Quasi, Melle, Rachel Garrett, Zeph, and Fuzz—their personalities, looks, costumes, and the actors behind the roles. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, concept artwork, and interviews with executive producer Alex Kurtzman, screenplay writer/executive producer Craig Sweeny, director/executive producer Olatunde Osunsanmi, costume designer Gersha Phillips, hair department head Ryan Reed, make-up department head Shauna Llewellyn, and stars Robert Kazinsky (“Zeph”), Michelle Yeoh (“Philippa Georgiou”), Omari Hardwick (“Alok Sahar”), Sam Richardson (“Quasi”), Humberly González (“Melle”), Kacey Rohl (“Rachel Garrett”), Robert Kazinsky (“Zeph”) & Sven Ruygrok (“Fuzz”). - Stunts Squad (12:49)
The cast and crew discuss the prep and execution of the film’s stunt sequences. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with director/executive producer Olatunde Osunsanmi, stunt coordinator Christopher McGuire, fight coordinator George Tchortov & Max White, and stars Sven Ruygrok, Omari Hardwick & Robert Kazinsky. - Art Squad (11:08)
The cast and crew discuss the design of the film’s sets and ships, utilizing the VR wall/volume, redesigning the Discovery spaces, and more. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with director/executive producer Olatunde Osunsanmi, production designer Paul Kirby, set decorator Summer Gaal, screenplay writer/executive producer Craig Sweeny, and actor Joe Pingue (“Dada Noe”). (Not included on DVD release.) - Gear Squad (11:37)
Property Master Mario Moreira shows off some of the various props and gadgets designed for the film. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, concept artwork, and some comments from director/executive producer Olatunde Osunsanmi. - Georgiou (15:22)
The cast and crew discuss the character of Philippa Georgiou, the long process of developing the spin-off, working with Michelle Yeoh, the character’s origin, her look and costumes, and more. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with executive producer Alex Kurtzman, director/executive producer Olatunde Osunsanmi, screenplay writer/executive producer Craig Sweeny, hair department head Ryan Reed, costume designer Gersha Phillips, make-up department head Shauna Llewellyn, stunt coordinator Christopher McGuire, and actors Michelle Yeoh, James Hiroyuki Liao (“San”) & Shara Kim (Michelle Yeoh’s stunt double). - Gag Reel (4:16)
Laugh along with the cast as they miss marks, flub lines, improv, and just have fun on set.
Final Thoughts:
Star Trek: Section 31 isn’t quite the spin-off series that was announced years ago when Michelle Yeoh left Discovery. It has some promising elements, especially as it delves into Philippa Georgiou’s backstory. However, it leans a little too much into the silliness and wackiness, which undercuts some of the stakes and more serious moments. There is something slightly off about this version of Philippa Georgiou that makes her not feel quite like the same character I grew to love in Discovery. I wasn’t really a fan when I first saw the film on Paramount+, but did enjoy it slightly more this second time around on disc. That said, Paramount’s 4K SteelBook release should please any fan of the film. The picture and sound quality is amazing, and the discs include a solid selection of behind-the-scenes material. The SteelBook packaging is also quite beautiful. Fans of the film will definitely want to pick this up, but other folks may find this take on Section 31 a bit too silly at times, and may want to check it on Paramount+ before a blind buy.
