This sets the expectations I guess:

In this third wave of the universe, Section 31 isn’t a traditional Star Trek story, which could cause consternation among some fans. However, this movie was never supposed to be something so familiar. By its nature, the Section 31 group is not dedicated to exploration, diplomacy and discovering new life on strange new worlds. Rather, they are tasked with doing the dirty work that maintains the utopian society, allowing more traditional Starfleet heroes to advance those higher ideals.