Warning: Spoilers ahead forStar Trek: Section 31.
Star Trek: Section 31hasn’t been received all that well, which continues an unfortunate franchise trend that has plagued the saga since its first movie back in 1979. Since reunitingStar Trek: The Original Series' castfor the franchise’s first feature-length installment, a fascinating pattern has emerged concerningeveryStar Trekmoviethat has followed - including the 1979 effort. So, although theStar Trek: Section 31castand crew wouldn’t have intentionally tried to add to this streak, it only makes the fact that it happened anyway even more interesting.
Star Trek: Section 31’s endingmakes it very clear that the movie isn’t intended to be the saga’s final feature-length project. In fact, the straight-to-streaming movie teases aStar Trek: Section 31sequel- which could, in turn, spawn another movie to continue the story. AlthoughSection 31has the benefit of exploring a “lost era"of theStar Trektimeline, a sequel still may not be a very good idea. On the other hand, it could actually be a really good plan if the series' weird pattern continues to flourish.
Star Trek’s Movie Pattern Explained
AlthoughStar Trek: The Motion Picturesent ripples of excitement through the fan base after years of inactivity, it’s still generally seen as a lukewarm movie. Thankfully, the immediate sequel,1982’sStar Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn, immediately validated the decision to takeStar Trekto the big screen. After that, subsequent movies followed the same pattern as the first two. There would be a badStar Trekmovie, then a bad one, then a good one, and so on. However, there was something of a reprieve in this strangely consistent phenomenon thanks to 2002’sStar Trek: Nemesis.
1 Big Thing About Star Trek: Section 31’s Villain Makes No Sense
Star Trek: Section 31 introduces a villain from Emperor Georgiou’s past, but something doesn’t add up when it comes to the movie’s timeline.
Star Trek: Nemesiswas the secondTNG-era movie in a row to disappoint after 1998’s let-down -Star Trek: Insurrection. It performed so badly that it ended up being the lastStar Trekmovie for years. Eventually, JJ Abrams resurrected the movie branch of the franchise with 2009’sStar Trek.The first effort to be set in the Kelvin Timeline was widely praised, so it also brought back the bad-then-good pattern 17 years afterNemesisflopped.
IfStar Trek: Section 31had performed well, then the pattern would have been broken for a second time.
Then, history resumed as it often had, and 2013’sStar Trek: Into Darknessfailed to live up to the 2009 movie’s good name before the Kelvin Timeline movies became a trilogy with the success ofStar Trek: Beyondin 2016. IfStar Trek: Section 31had performed well, then the pattern would have been broken for a second time. Unfortunately, it has been hugely criticized for several reasons. So,Nemesisremains the outlier in terms of the pattern being 100% consistent.
Section 31’s Reviews Confirm It’s A Weaker Star Trek Movie After Star Trek: Beyond
There is solid evidence to prove that Beyond is objectively better than Section 31
Movie taste is very subjective. Just because a project is widely accepted as either good or bad, that doesn’t mean there aren’t people who believe the opposite. Plus, critical reception can often be very different from how fans enjoy or dislike a movie. So, all sides of the argument need to be considered when arriving at a final decision about whetherStar Trek: Section 31is an improvement overStar Trek: Beyond, or whether the Michelle Yeoh-led effort bucks the trend and gives the franchise two good movies in a row.
Star Trek: Beyondhas a score of 86% on Rotten Tomatoes, and the fans rate it only slightly lower at 80%. When weighed up againstSection 31’s ratings, it’s clear to see which movie is far superior.
One of the most succinct ways of objectively provingStar Trek: Section 31is weaker than its most recent predecessor is by heading to one of the internet’s most high-profile review sites -Rotten Tomatoes. Sadly,Section 31’s Rotten Tomatoes score sits at just 23% percent, and the combined audience reviews value the effort even less at 17%. On the other hand,Star Trek: Beyondhas a score of 86% on Rotten Tomatoes, and the fans rate it only slightly lower at 80%. When weighed up againstSection 31’s ratings, it’s clear to see which movie is far superior.
The Star Trek Movie Curse Isn’t As Clear-Cut As It Used To Be
Older Star Trek movies may be enjoyed far more in the modern age
Ever sinceStar Trek: Nemesisbroke the chain by serving as a second bad movie in a row, it’s become far less clear whether the franchise’s next feature-length effort will be better or worse than its predecessor. Until then, it was a weirdly consistent pattern. However, in retrospect, it becomes a matter of debate of whether the “bad” movies were just not quite as good as the ones before them. Similarly,it could also just be that the “good"Star Trekmovies seemed great because they were an improvement over the previous ones.
Rachel Garrett Is The Best Reason Why Star Trek: Section 31 Needs A Sequel
Kacey Rohl’s Lt. Rachel Garrett is one of the best characters in Star Trek: Section 31, and the film deserves a sequel just for her.
Plus, there’s also the matter ofStar Trek: Into Darknessgenerally not being held in very high regard by fans but being heavily praised by critics. So, the curse has become far less black-and-white in recent times, rather than a solid formula to work out what the quality of a coming movie will be. Not only that, but some of the older films may be long overdue for reappraisal, as modern tastes aren’t the same as they were decades ago, andStar Trek: Section 31’s underwhelming impact may make some of the others look like masterpieces by comparison.
