In theory, Section 31 should have been a fun Star Trekian take on a spy flick. But sometimes theories can be wrong.
Georgiou was always one of my favorite characters from Star Trek: Discovery. I loved the clash between her ethical flexibility and Starfleet’s rigid adherence to their moral code. And given the last spin off from that show is now my second favorite Star Trek series, the prospect of a movie, and dare I say a potential new series built around Georgiou, made me positively giddy.
Unfortunately, the nicest thing I can say about the movie is that Georgiou is still recognizably the same. Michelle Yeoh made this film almost watchable. That, and we finally met San, the person she tempted us with in her final episode of Discovery. Too bad their backstory was so trite.
To add insult to injury, they then surrounded Georgiou with Guardians of the Galaxy cast offs, whose interactions are neither fun nor fear-inducing. And without the time to get to know the characters, they never progress beyond a collection of tropes and stereotypes.
We have San, Georgiou’s star-crossed love and her chance for redemption. The musclebound blond who punches first and is deservedly insecure about his intelligence. Except with a mech suit instead of muscles. We have the equivalent of the hooker with a heart of gold. But it’s cool because she can fight. And don’t forget the tall, dark and brooding leader, with a dark past to rival Georgiou’s. Just to name a few.
They attempt to make up for this by mentioning Starfleet every five minutes or so to remind you that this is supposed to be a Star Trek movie. It isn’t. Starfleet may have taken on grayer tones in some of the newer series. However, while it may have unbent enough to staff a black ops division, it still values competence.
From a narrative perspective, the writers might have gotten away with the morally unstable but highly competent, or possibly the dregs of Starfleet being given one final chance. Either of those might have been entertaining, or at least provided credible conflict. But in the effort to have their cake and eat it too, they made this movie inedible.
The characters weren’t the only issue. Though, if they had been better, they could have saved the woefully formulaic plot. There was literally only one twist I didn’t see coming and that was because by that time I was too bored to care. And the final resolution was as implausible as it was predictable.
I could go on, but why? Suffice to say, I can’t imagine this appealing to a Star Trek fan of any stripe. And if the goal was to bring action-seeking non-Trekkies into the fold, then the JJ Abrams reboots do a much better job. At least those movies understand the source material.
Michelle Yeoh deserves a star of her own, which is the only reason I'm giving this:
2 out of 5 tricorders
Quotes:
Georgiou: “I’m not feeling motivated to be valuable to anyone but myself.”
Alok: “I’m giving you a chance to get back in on the action on a galactic scale.”
Georgiou: “What a cute idea.”
Garrett: “31 is a Black Ops division spy work. Starfleet is here to make sure no one commits murder.”
Melle: “Work together and don’t get dead.”
Shari loves sci-fi, fantasy, the supernatural, and anything with a cape.
- Star Trek Discovery
- All Things Star Trek: a complete list of everything Star Trek at Doux Reviews
Shari, thank you so much for biting this particular reviewing bullet for us. Michelle Yeoh clearly deserved better than this. I'm still trying to decide if I want to watch it or not.
ReplyDeleteNormally, I would say go for it. Sometimes even bad movies can be entertaining. But I fear this is the exception to that rule. If I hadn't been reviewing it I don't think I would have finished it, despite my love for Michelle.
ReplyDeletethe JJ Abrams reboots do a much better job. At least those movies understand the source material.
ReplyDeleteCould have fooled me. If I recall correctly, Abrams actually came right out and said he had never watched Star Trek — and it shows. (And if I'm wrong about that, then all I can say is that his comprehension of Star Trek is ... superficial.)
So this is the Star Trek equivalent of the Witcher prequel (also with Yeoh)
ReplyDeleteI can't speak for JJ Abrams specifically. All I can say is that someone on those projects had a better grasp, however superficial, of Star Trek. This is more of a complaint about Section 31 and not praise for the reboots.
ReplyDeleteI didn't watch the Witcher prequel so I can't speak to the comparison. Other than to say that this is not a prequel.
JJ clearly watched Star Trek before his movies, since ST rips off half of Wrath of Khan. And then SW7 ripped off almost all of SW4. Add Lost, and my respect for the guy is almost lost (heh, not intended). Only Fringe seems like a positive, and I'm not yet finished.
ReplyDeleteSection 31? What a fucking disaster. Indeed, Michelle deserved way better. And so did Rachel Garrett.
When I first saw the videos on this one pop on YouTube, I saw a lot of negativity, but considering the outrage factory that is so prevalent there, I didn't think much about at first. Then I saw it has less than 20% on Rotten Tomatoes with critics and audience, and knew it had to have problems. It's never good when a great franchise like Star Trek gets hammered like this.
ReplyDeleteI think one of the most frustrating things for me was that the cast seemed generally very capable. Kacey Rohl is incredibly talented and the other actors certainly seemed like having an Oscar-winner among them was getting them to up their game. If the script had been genuinely interested in even a single character (and also had a grasp of nuance), I think the cast at least would have shined, even if the rest had still been a mess.
ReplyDeleteThe Kelvin timeline was a very mixed bag. But as far as Section 31, I wasn't excited by the idea when it was first being tossed around as a series. When that didn't happen, there was absolutely no way this was going to work as a single stand alone movie. I wish they had just abandoned the idea, but I bet they had a contract with Yeoh to make something. She deserved better.
ReplyDelete