Brendan3

I would have rated it 10/10 had the final musical number not dragged on a bit. It succeeds in appealing to fans of the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise but also as a stand alone Christmas special for those unfamiliar with the characters. Unlike the films where there are serious moments of peril that may be scary for small children, this is perfectly appropriate for small children.

As has been mentioned by other reviewers, actress Pom Klementieff, as Mantis, steals the show and gets probably the most screen time and lines... and she, like all the actors in this special, plays it broad and campy and is clearly having a lot of fun. Pairing her character with Drax, played by Dave Bautista, is a perfect comic match of opposing personalities that gets a lot of genuine laughs.

Kevin Bacon playing a shaking terrified campy version of himself is also an absolute delight. Completely satisfying as an addition to the saga of the Guardians of the Galaxy... and, at its core, still has the heart, joy, and positive message of a traditional family Christmas special.

Well done.

First... the problem many viewers are having: I saw this film in theaters... and again on home video on VHS tape.

When it was later remastered for DVD and HD streaming, some idiot forgot to include the English subtitles.

Half the film's dialog is spoken in Italian.

In theaters and on home video VHS, there are English subtitles for all the Italian dialog Neither the DVD nor the streaming version have any English subtitles for these parts and there is no way a viewer who does not speak Italian can follow the intricate details of the story.

Entire subplots and character details are lost

That's a shame because when seen with the full subtitles, the film is a well crafted superb thriller worthy of standing alongside some of Frankenheimer's best films.