THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED SPECIAL. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
Heroes can work so hard, they can forget that they have opportunities to relax. When they take advantage of it, it really can be a satisfying moment for them all.
PLOT
The Disney+ Special Presentation, The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special follows the infamous cosmic team settling into the location of Knowhere, after recently purchasing it from The Collector. According to Kraglin (Sean Gunn), Earth is days away for humans to celebrate the popular holiday that is Christmas. He remembers that Peter Quill/Star Lord originally loved it as a kid, but never again celebrated it after Yondu (Michael Rooker) originally dismissed it. Wanting to make him happy after going through such loss, Drax the Destroyer and the empathic Mantis go to Hollywood to bring the perfect gift. To them, they decide to bring actor Kevin Bacon from his favorite movie Footloose. Their attempt to retrieve him unintentionally becomes a kidnapping when they break into his home and incapacitate local officers. After stealing decorations from a store, both Guardians find themselves disappointed that the actor is not a hero the way Quill described him to be. In order to feel comfortable about what they’ve done, Mantis puts Bacon in a trance that he’s really excited for being a Christmas part. Back at Knowhere, everyone surprises Quill with the decorations, but the Star Lord is quickly disturbed when realizing Bacon was brought against his will. So he quickly demands to be taken off of the trance and returned home. However, the actor chooses to stay for the occasion when Kraglin mentions that Footloose inspired Quill’s heroism. After everyone in Knowhere gets involved with the Earth holiday festivities by giving each other gifts and singing along to music, Bacon would eventually return home satisfied of making others happy. Once he leaves, Quill shares with Mantis that Yondu actually became so flattered of his Christmas gift that he returned the favor and gifted him his signature blasters. The special would end with both Guardians embracing each other as family when Mantis reveals that she is Quill’s half sister.
THOUGHTS
There has been such chaos going on in the MCU from the beginning, it honestly feels like heroes are never gonna catch a break. Having a victory lunch at Shawarma lunch is one thing, but ever since the first season finale of She Hulk, it showed that it’s possible for heroic figures to be relieved from stress. So it brings me to feel satisfied again that we’re smiling throughout and to not worry of actual threats. Writer/Director James Gunn provided nonstop laughter with the handful of shenanigans that occurred throughout the 40 minute runtime. That was only possible thanks to the talented ensemble he assembled with recurring and new characters. The majority of this special is carried by Drax and Mantis. Thanks to great chemistry by Dave Bautista and Pom Klementieff respectively, we remain in love with these two for being too literal with their words, yet have good intentions with their poor decisions. They get drunk at a bar, steal decorations, and fight officers before kidnapping Bacon. Now that is a night no one could ever forget for being insanely hilarious. Even though they still don't how different Earth is from other planets, you still admire their intent to be good friends to their leader. Drax definitely owes it to Quill for fighting alongside each other, but for Mantis, it becomes a burden to express the sibling love she never thought she'd ever give and receive. And that is the best thing about this story, her attempt to be closer to Quill as a sibling is a beautiful way to remind viewers that the holidays are special when you spend it with whoever you identify as family. Whatever the shape and/or size, the only thing that matters is the love you feel for them and they feel for you. I don't blame Mantis for her hesitance to tell Quill of their relation because her relation is valid, he doesn't need to be reminded of the tragedy he lived through. When you look at Chris Pratt, you definitely sense that Star Lord is not in a positive mind set, which is obviously due to losing Gamora and not reuniting with her yet. He may prefer being distant from his home planet, but that didn't mean he would ignore their festivities. So seeing the joy in his eyes when seeing the decorations, it warmed my heart as much as it warmed his because it showed that happiness never goes away. It was indeed hilarious for him to handle meeting Bacon because his common sense showed his growth. One, he's been abducted before and two, it's the same common sense Gamora would've had if she was around at this point (proving how much he misses her). My heart only felt warmer when he accepted Mantis as his sister because it was the final nail in the coffin that family will always be there for you no matter the scenario. While I laughed of Drax losing it over an inflatable elf and mistaking a candy cane as a person, I still thought it was cool for Mantis to show her combative skills, making me wish we got a better glimpse of that during Endgame. Of course, this short film would not work at all without the presence of Kevin Bacon himself who fit right in. His overall presence truly fit the story as hoped and he was a delight to have as well. He is definitely a fish out of water because he never expected to be involved in a sci fi hijinks. He's accurately just as scared as anyone would be when encountering extraterrestrials, but knowing the impact made on a superhero shows the importance of being a role model, you lead them to the directions that'll be right for them in the long run. So once he understood that his performance in Footloose inspired the galaxy to be saved, he knew he had to stay and celebrate the holidays with the people that have unknowingly saved his life. Seeing him perform 'Here it is Christmastime' with aliens played by Old 97's was awesome because it showed how natural it is to enjoy the holidays with anyone around you. If there becomes a tradition for Bacon to regularly celebrate holidays with the Guardians, I will always be invested. Although there isn't that much to say with the other Guardians, but they still got my attention in the given time. It was pretty cool to notice Groot is getting bigger, which gives Vin Diesel the chance to accurately deepen the voice. It's still funny though when you notice that he's still a child deep down when he was excited being gifted a GameBoy. He even had time to make a mural of the events that occurred throughout the whole special, which is very creative on his end. Karen Gillan really made the best out of her screen time as Nebula. We get to see her own growth as she is remains socially awkward due to her tragic past making it hard to express sympathy. Just because it's hard doesn't mean she doesn't try to fit in. Seeing her try to dance to the music, go half ways with the group hug and gift Rocket (Bradley Cooper) with Bucky's arm shows how strong her efforts remain. Had she not been on Earth and had that bond with Tony Stark during the Blip era, I don't think she would've made it this far. The funniest moment she gives other than that has to be her love/hate relationship towards actors. She was ready to hunt down Bacon but once he chose to stay, she understood again that not everyone is terrible. Now thanks to Nebula, when I cook bacon, I will traditionally shout "You can't outrun me Bacon". Last but not least, I know there isn't a lot of screen time for Cosmo, but Maria Balakova nailed that Russian accent for such an adorable space dog, which only gets me pumped for Vol. 3. Even though I had a really had a really good time watching this, there were still a few moments I questioned as I watched it. For instance, why did it take so long for Mantis to get a Star Map. If they weren't asking for Bacon during their moment of paparazzi outside the Chinese Theater, then that is bad on their end. Next, why didn't she leap over the fence if she was able to leap towards Bacon? It's not like her powers and agility are limited. And lastly, I did think it was for the actor's wife, actress Kyra Sedgwick to be involved as well, from the voice alone via cellphone, but did she even know that her home got broken into? It's like she didn't notice there was broken window and missing decorations. She can't be that clueless. I wish Kevin good luck on explaining the situation to her. Other than that, this was quite a fine presentation. To wrap up, The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special was such a fun short for letting the festivities kick in the most positive way. If you have Disney+ and love superheroes or the holidays, you'll enjoy this very much.
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