Review of Star Trek: Section 31 the Movie

I'm definitely a little late to the party in watching the new Section 31 movie, but I had good reason. I was on vacation in India, so when it came out, I was too busy relaxing with my family to watch it. However, as soon as it was released, I checked out the reviews, and they weren't very positive, which definitely demotivated me from wanting to see the movie.

This weekend, though, since I had a day off, I decided it was a good time to finally watch it. When the trailer first came out, I immediately thought of "Suicide Squad," and that worried me because, if you remember, "Suicide Squad" was universally panned by audiences and critics alike. My other concern after watching the trailer was that this movie would be aimed at a general audience rather than us Trekkies. Unfortunately, after watching the film, I realized that both of my fears came true.

This movie fell short in almost every way. The characters could have been interesting, but none of them were fully developed, and we didn't really get to learn much about each character, including Georgiou—who we only got half of a story from. The pacing was also an issue; the beginning was very slow, the middle picked up real quick, and then the end dragged again. Additionally, the plot felt underdeveloped, and I believe a lot of the movie's problems stem from its runtime. At about 1 hour and 30 minutes, it's really not long enough to flesh out all of the characters given the plot they chose. Throughout the movie, I found myself not caring about the main character or the device that was supposed to destroy the universe.

I’m trying to think if there was anything I actually liked about this film, and honestly, not really. Despite being targeted at a general audience, even they might be puzzled by the lack of depth in the movie. I noticed that many critics were lamenting the absence of depth and the underdeveloped plot, and I have to agree with them. Furthermore, there was nothing that felt very 'Trek' about this movie—aside from the mention of Section 31—so it didn’t feel like a Star Trek movie at all. This lack of 'Trek' essence was a major disappointment for me as a fan.

So, is this movie worth watching? I would say, sure, if you're looking for something to have on while doing chores. Other than that, this is definitely a Star Trek movie you can skip because, honestly, it adds nothing of significance to the franchise. It's a missed opportunity to enrich the Star Trek universe with a compelling Section 31 sto