Not even Michelle Yeoh can save this

Scientists say that our universe is constantly expanding. But some universes should know when to stop, as evidenced by the first TV movie (well, technically streaming movie) and the fourteenth overall in the venerable Star Trek franchise. Premiere on Paramount+, Star Trek: Section 31 is a spinoff of the series Star Trek: Discovery but seems to capitalize primarily on the talents of Michelle Yeoh, who, since creating the Philippa Georgiou character, has added the phrase “Academy Award winner” to her bio.

Helmed by Olatunde Osunsanmi, the film was originally intended as another series, but Oscar winners tend to have busy schedules. Hence this one-off, although its conclusion makes it obvious that if the fans demand it, we’ll see a lot more of Philippa and the other figures from the titular rogue organization defending the United Federation of Planets in ways they prefer not to know about.

I will admit that I have long lost track of Byzantine chronology Star Trek universe, so you’ll have to look elsewhere to find the details of Yeoh’s character, who began as a respected Starfleet captain before switching to an alternate version as a villainous Emperor in the Mirror Universe.

Now she’s back in the Prime Universe, albeit in a different timeline – be aware there will be a quiz at the end of this review – running a nightclub in a far-flung region of the galaxy (it’s good to know the live entertainment continues with thriving even in the room). The film opens with a voiceover memo to the members of Section 31, presumably designed to bring the audience up to speed as they are, with the warning about Philippa: “Make no mistake, the dog bites, watch your back.”

Philippa feels very much in her element at her club, where her martinis have raw eyeballs instead of olives. So she’s not too thrilled when she’s approached by dashing Section 31 leader Alok Sahar (Omari Hardwick) and recruited to join them on a secret mission to prevent the United Federation of Planets from being attacked by an ultimate arms. The name of said weapon allows for a less-than-hilarious debate over whether it should be pronounced “God’s Send” or “God’s End.”

The other Section 31 members are an eclectic bunch, including Rachel Garrett (Kacey Rohl), who struggles to bring Starfleet values ​​to the mission (and was first seen way back in Star Trek: The Next Generation); Fuzz (Sven Ruygrok), a Vulcan who isn’t really a Vulcan, as evidenced by his emotional volatility and tendency to speak with a very bad Irish accent; Quasi (Sam Richardson), a shapeshifting Chameloid (originally portrayed by Iman in Star Trek VI: The Voyage Home); Mell (Humberly Gonzalez), who joined Section 31 after Starfleet refused to allow her to use her natural charm; and Zeph (Rob Kazinsky), who annoyingly rejoices in the benefits of his mechanical body modifications.

The screenplay by Craig Sweeny struggles mightily to extract humor from the quirky characters with little success, and such plot elements as the revelation that one of the Section 31 members is a mole are similarly underwhelming. So that largely leaves the diversion to be found in the numerous action sequences where Yeoh once again demonstrates his trademark fighting skills (albeit here augmented with distracting digital tricks). The actress has such a commanding and darkly entertaining screen presence that the pedestrian film can almost, but not quite, be forgiven for failing her so completely.

Not that she won’t be back, as evidenced by the ending, with a cameo from one of Yeoh’s co-stars in Everything everywhere at oncethat makes it clear that more films with Philippa are almost inevitable.