The Guardians of the Galaxy: Holiday Special

So,,,

The last we saw our Gaurdians of the Galaxy pals they were leaving Thor and Korg (along with those giant goats) on some distant planet.

Since then, judging from this,, apparently things have happened.

The Guardians of the Galaxy have bought Nowhere from the Collector, and are in the process making it their own (which means a LOT of WORK for our band of space pirates).

No one knows where Gamora is, btw. She has not been seen nor heard about since the events near the end of Endgame. This being the case, has sent Quill into a bit of a blue slump. I mean, he finally got Gamora, then lost her, faded out of existence for 5 years when the blip happened, then comes back, battles Thanos's army, and then, there is Gamora!! Back! Alive!! Then she knocks him on his butt (granted,, this version of Gamora had no clue who he was, so it was a bit justified) and runs. Ugh,, that would make anyone a bit down in the dumps.

While StarLords friends are talking about his current state, Kraglin mentions that when he and Peter were coming up (as kids) in Yondu's crew, they once tried to celebrate Christmas, but Yondu ruined it, thus ruining Christmas forever. After hearing this, Mantis takes it upon herself to cheer Peter up. She and Drax devise a plan to travel to Earth and abduct the legendary KEVIN BACON to be a Christmas present for Quill! What could possibly go wrong?!? Lol,,,

For all the misses they've had in the last bit, the MCU scores a good home run with the special (James Gunn does good work. Looking forward to seeing what he does with DC). It's plenty funny, and just heartwarming enough.

I look forward to seeing Vol 3.

Pom Klementieff is given more screen time in this special than in all her other MCU appearances combined, and she makes Mantis the perfect point of view character for this Christmas special. She is both hilarious and heart-warming as she struggles to give Peter Quill the perfect Christmas, and her sincerity and chaotic energy are what carries this story. As alien abduction stories go, this one was pretty funny, and surprisingly touching. It still had all the corny Christmas special elements you'd expect - absurd musical numbers, references to old movies, and everyone learning the true meaning of American Christmas - getting presents. If they made another one next year, I'd watch it.

What a cool little idea for a story, one that doesn't warrant a full movie but is perfect for a Special. It's immediately elevated by the characters we already know and love. The cast all play their roles well as usual, but Pom Klementieff kills it with both the comedy and emotional moments.

As usual with The Guardians, laughs are plentiful. I cracked up twenty-plus times. And the route they go with the story is highly amusing. It's also good to see some added focus on some of the side characters. It even had enough to create some heartfelt emotional moments.

I had a great time going on this adventure with The Guardians. The MCU is two for two with their Specials. I'm still not fatigued. Give me more! (2 viewings, 11/24/2022, 5/2/2023)

The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special is much better than the Star Wars Holiday Special, though it may not be as memorable. This is a simple story about an inconsequential adventure for Drax & Mantis, who actually work pretty well as a comedic duo. And since it's a short Christmas tale, problems are resolved with a wave (or touch) of the hand, and the ending is wrapped up nicely with a little bow. I do wish they hadn't tried to cram modern Christmas hits in every couple of minutes--that was a little distracting. Still, this is better than most of the stuff we've gotten in Phase 4 of the MCU.

The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special ends phase 4 on a satisfying high, delivering a short piece of festive fun that still has all the humour and emotional weight expected of a James Gunn project and a reminder that he is/was one of the best filmmakers Marvel had.

The Guardians are all great in their small roles but it's absolutely Pom Klementieff's show and she finally gets to shine as Mantis, bringing new layers to her character and still having a really funny rapport with Dave Bautista. Kevin Bacon fits in perfectly, more than ready to indulge in the silliness and send up.

James Gunn's direction is excellent, it has more in common with his direction on Peacemaker and Super than the previous films and returns the MCU to a practical and lived in feel not properly seen since phase 1, which nicely counterbalances the shoddy CG. The soundtrack is terrific too, a solid selection of festive tunes that are implemented really well.