Olatune Osunsanmi’s new TV film “Star Trek: Part 31” was initially supposed to be a full-blown TV sequence and a correct spinoff to “Star Trek: Discovery.” The present was to observe Michelle Yeoh because the villainous Empress Philippa Georgiou, a bloodthirsty tyrant from one other dimension, as she was recruited right into a super-secret black-ops group embedded deeply inside Starfleet. Though the Empress had murdered untold thousands and thousands of individuals and recurrently ate the flesh of her enemies, she was introduced as considerably sympathetic, having undergone a really delicate private redemption.
Starfleet understood Georgiou was morally bankrupt, but it surely required her model of chapter to commit acts of covert terrorism to maintain the Federation’s utopia maintained. Plans for a “Part 31” TV sequence stretch again so far as at the least 2019. By 2023, nevertheless, the “Star Trek” franchise had entered a state of widespread contraction, with many of the property’s then-ongoing reveals being canceled one after the opposite. Additionally, Yeoh gained an Academy Award for “Every little thing In every single place All at As soon as,” so her means to decide to a TV sequence turned nebulous. In consequence, “Part 31” was refashioned as a standalone streaming TV film occasion (the primary in “Star Trek” historical past).
“Star Trek: Part 31” debuted on Paramount+ on January 24, 2025, and it is rather a lot a January film. It is a light-weight, nondescript actioner filled with broad, well-worn character varieties, not-so-funny humor, fairly generic combat scenes, and no significant connections to the “Star Trek” world at massive. It was additionally met with largely adverse opinions and at present sports activities a mere 19% approval ranking on Rotten Tomatoes (out of 42 opinions), which is the bottom RT ranking within the historical past of the “Star Trek” franchise. /Movie, in distinction, gave “Part 31” a semi-positive assessment, describing it (complimentarily) as B-movie trash. For probably the most half, nevertheless, the movie was rejected by Trekkies and non-Trekkies alike.
Why did not “Part 31” catch on with audiences? A number of causes.
Part 31 could not assist however really feel just like the pilot to a TV sequence
The premise of “Part 31” is easy: Empress Georgiou has been hiding out outdoors the boundaries of Federation area, posing as a complicated Contemporary nightclub proprietor. Her nightclub, the Baraam, is a hive of scum and villainy, however it’s removed from wretched. It’s extremely high-end. The complete membership can fold up and fly across the galaxy like a starship. She is then contacted by a personality named Alok (Omari Hardwick) and subsequently re-enlisted again into Part 31 to trace down a doomsday weapon of her personal invention.
Aiding her quest are a horny Deltan named Melle (Humberly González), a brash cyborg named Zeph (Robert Kazinsky), a Starfleet bureaucrat named Rachel Garrett (Kacey Rohl), a flippant shapeshifter named Quasi (Sam Richardson), and a hyper-intelligent microorganism piloting a humanoid go well with that appears like actor Sven Ruygrok.
The ragtag group of “zany” characters endure their harmful mission with out too many points, discovering that they work effectively collectively. Certainly, by the top of the movie, Part 31 has roughly agreed that the above group ought to grow to be everlasting, with the Empress serving as their chief. The “angels” will now take their directions from an off-screen “Charlie” (Jamie Lee Curtis) and sail across the cosmos of their spacebound nightclub righting wrongs. Or wronging rights, because the case could also be.
In fact, since this can be a TV film and never a pilot episode, audiences won’t ever see the additional adventures of the Baraam, making “Part 31” really feel presumptuous. Quite than really feel like an entire journey unto itself, “Part 31” comes throughout as a bunch of guarantees that can by no means be fulfilled. The characters aren’t fleshed out very effectively, presumably as a result of they have been meant to grow to be extra fascinating in later episodes. The universe of the Baraam is not explored both as a result of, once more, that was initially meant to happen in a while in a TV sequence that is not taking place.
With no extra episodes, “Part 31” feels incomplete.
Philippa Georgiou wasn’t a very deep character
Within the early episodes of “Star Trek: Discovery,” audiences have been launched to a relaxed and noble character named Captain Georgiou (additionally Yeoh), who was swiftly killed in a conflagration with Klingons. When the united statesS. Discovery unintentionally shunted itself into the evil Mirror Universe on the present, its crew met a model of Georgiou who was alive, sure, but additionally a violent cannibal tyrant. The crew of the Discovery thusly kidnapped her and introduced her to the “good” universe, the place she discovered she wasn’t allowed to homicide with fairly the identical impunity. Empress Georgiou, because the character was identified, remained a semi-regular a part of “Discovery” by way of the present’s third season earlier than finally exiting the sequence by strolling by way of a time portal.
Whereas Yeoh is having enjoyable taking part in such a cartoonishly evil character, Empress Georgiou has but to exist past the realm of “enjoyable villain.” She’s not deep or complicated, having been raised evil in an evil universe. Moreover, the writers of “Discovery” and “Part 31” by no means took full benefit of what Empress Georgiou dropped at “Star Trek.” How would the ordinarily diplomatic, clever, and nonviolent members of Starfleet react to somebody who was raised to be depraved in a malevolent universe? What kind of discussions would they’ve? How would they argue about or debate one another’s morality?
As a substitute, Empress Georgiou proved to be a little bit like Emperor Palpatine from the “Star Wars” franchise in that simply loves being evil, and that is it. And whereas that kind of character can actually be enjoyable as an antagonist, she’s additionally the final form of character one would possibly wish to lead a TV sequence, particularly a caper that blends components of the spy, comedy, and motion genres with an ensemble of differing character varieties. Think about “Ocean’s Eleven,” however one member of the group is Cannibal House Hitler. She had nowhere to go, no management expertise, and would by no means change. Michelle Yeoh is an incredible lead actor, however Georgiou was by no means meant to be a lead character.
The opposite characters in Part 31 additionally form of sucked
When compiled in a pitch packet, the principle characters of “Part 31” appear fascinating sufficient. Alok is the “mysterious man with a previous,” whereas Quasi is the humorous character overwhelmed by the violence round him. Elsewhere, Rachel Garrett is the straight-laced pencil-pusher, whereas Zeph is the low-intelligence muscle. Melle provided some potential sexual chaos, and I like the thought of a microorganism piloting a human-sized robotic go well with. And, after all, there was Cannibal House Hitler herself, Empress Georgiou. If these characters got sharp writing and fascinating, complicated personalities, there isn’t any purpose they should not be wholly interesting.
However they weren’t, they usually weren’t. The characters could have had potential, however they did not stay as much as it. Their senses of humor have been unfunny and clunky. There’s an prolonged bit whereby one character is confused as as to whether a doomsday machine is named “Godsend” or “God’s Finish,” and it would not carry any humor to the scene, nor does it function any form of character second. Nobody reveals a tragic (or whimsical) backstory that may make them appear richer or extra nuanced, and everybody lacks coronary heart. The filmmakers gave the impression to be capturing for a vibe akin to James Gunn’s 2014 film “Guardians of the Galaxy.” That movie was additionally a fairly customary thriller with a “we should retrieve the doomsday machine from a generic villain” story, however Gunn gave his characters precise humor and, dare I say, coronary heart. “Guardians of the Galaxy” has an enormous variety of followers.
“Part 31” has no coronary heart, sadly, and its characters by no means emerge past their imprecise casting-sheet descriptions. They do not develop distinctive relationships, do not bond, do not interact in playful banter, and by no means grow to be extra humane. With out that sparkle, a sci-fi motion thriller is not going to work.
Part 31’s motion wasn’t excellent
It has beforehand been said within the pages of /Movie that “Star Trek” features finest when it is eschewing violence and motion. The “Star Trek” franchise is, when it comes to style, very pliable, after all, having encompassed Westerns, homicide mysteries, morality performs, musicals, and animated crossovers. Be that as it could, the franchise’s overarching utopian sense of pacifism has all the time been its strongest binding aspect. When the makers of “Star Trek” fall into the “use violence to resolve issues” tropes of motion motion pictures, it begins to lose sight of its thesis.
However “Part 31” was decided to be an motion thriller, so audiences needed to deal with its fights, explosions, and phaser battles. It additionally stands to purpose that if one goes to rent Michelle Yeoh for an motion thriller, one would possibly as effectively benefit from the celebrity’s well-documented martial arts expertise. So, style complaints apart, how is the motion in “Part 31?”
Because it so occurs, it’s wholly unimpressive. There’s nothing intelligent, distinctive, or witty in regards to the motion sequences. There’s a combat early within the movie whereby Georgiou and a masked assailant each activate high-tech private phasing gadgets, permitting them to move by way of partitions whereas nonetheless with the ability to punch each other. One would possibly suppose this would offer a number of moments of visible wit or a combat sequence whereby the fighters grow to be tangible and intangible in flip. No such luck. The combat is only a combat, solely with a “shimmer” visible impact laid over the actors.
Later within the movie, characters trip on high of a high-speed car and it very a lot seems to be like actors performing in opposition to a inexperienced display screen. It is dangerous sufficient that “Part 31” leaned so onerous into motion film tropes, however then it did not do something fascinating with the motion itself. It is all customary, boring combat nonsense.
Part 31 wasn’t actually Star Trek in any respect
/Movie beforehand commented that “Part 31” is as removed from the core tenets of “Star Trek” that the franchise has ever strayed. For probably the most half, “Star Trek” is about amongst characters who work for Starfleet, the benevolent navy pressure dedicated to exploration, cultural alternate, and philosophical betterment. When “Star Trek” steps out of that world, it usually flounders, unable to outline what a galaxy-wide utopia seems to be like amongst civilians.
“Part 31” declares that the utopia of “Star Trek” is not potential with out groups of violent misfits working within the shadows and committing homicide as a matter after all. If shadowy murders are required to maintain your utopia afloat, then guess what? You are not residing in a utopia. One would possibly even name it a dystopia. You possibly can stay in peace and concord, but it surely have to be constructed on the bones of “enemies.” Not cool, dude.
Moreover, “Part 31” is not set on a Starship, so its sole Starfleet character barely has something to contribute. There are references to the bigger “Star Trek” universe, whereas alien species are borrowed from earlier “Star Trek” reveals and films, but the movie makes no deeper reference to any extant “Star Trek” lore. Certainly, one might have modified the screenplay’s correct nouns and launched “Part 31” as a non-“Star Trek” mission, and it will have functioned identically. “Part 31” seems to be just like the corny Nineteen Nineties Sci-Fi Channel TV motion pictures that Trekkies as soon as needed to wait by way of earlier than a block of “Star Trek” reruns started.
As such, “Part 31” is a film for no one. It would not have good motion, its storytelling is bland, its characters are broad, and its setting is generic. It wasn’t a movie that was going to draw both old-school Trekkies or basic motion film buffs. On the finish of the day, “Part 31” failed as a result of it simply wasn’t excellent.
“Star Trek: Part 31” is streaming on Paramount+.
