:heart:x8
This was a LOT of fun. The whole Kevin Bacon bit was absolutely hilarious. Would be cool if they could do something like this every year.
The story is simple, not big, and full of action. The whole thing is really quite ridiculous. And yet therein lies the genius.
How I rate:
1-3 :heart: = seriously! don't waste your time
4-6 :heart: = you may or may not enjoy this
7-8 :heart: = I expect you will like this too
9-10 :heart: = movies and TV shows I really love!
Wow this was full of hearts and had no rights being that good. The humor really worked as I laughed numerous times throughout and it was very touching too. These special presentations are gold.
It’s cozy, this is clearly playing to Marvel’s strengths. It isn’t super ambitious, but it makes for very nice comfort food. The FX actually look finished for once, the writing’s fun (good dialogue; neat little story; pays off a few things with these characters), I love how it makes Mantis a more interesting character and Gunn proves again that he knows how to craft colourful visuals. My biggest complaint is that the music kinda blows. Then again, you don’t have many good options when it comes to Christmas music, so there’s that. I wish they made more of these specials, this is the kind of content that would make me consider renewing my Disney Plus subscription.
6/10
[8.0/10] This was a ton of fun. The central idea of Mantis trying to get the perfect gift for Peter by kidnapping his childhood idol, is delightfully deranged. It leads to all sorts of great shenanigans with her and Drax heading to Earth to act like giant toddlers in Los Angeles. Both actors do great with the fish-out-of-water routine, and watching them obliviously make their way through human social situations, with all the grace and tact of a rowdy two-year-old, is a durable comic engine for the special. The various set pieces, from selfies amid other “characters,” a trip to a bar, and the chasing of Kevin Bacon himself provide plenty of fodder for comedy.
Kevin Bacon himself is a real sport. He’s game for a bit of self-deprecation, but comes off as genuinely charming, alarmed, and downright decent when going through such a bizarre set of circumstances. In true James Gunn style, it mixes the absurd with the sincere, as a celebrity abduction plot is out there, but relating to someone’s childhood hero on a special day isn’t.
Along the way, the imaginative texture and catchy needle-drops the Guardians franchise is known for are out in full force. The reimagined Knowhere feels like a real set despite digital embellishment. It looks especially bright and inviting with Mantis and Drax’s redecoration in luminous splendor. The alien designs have texture and creativity to them (especially the new Groot look), and even the scenes set on Earth have a certain panache to them.
Gunn and his team managed to round up a collection of great off-beat Xmas songs, and even added a couple new ones. Incorporating The Old 97s as an alien band is a boon, and their new song is my favorite of the bunch. Even Kevin Bacon himself turns in a creditable job singing the closing number (sounding eerily like Jason Isbell).
Also on the texture side, the animated flashbacks to Peter’s childhood with Yondu are stylistically reminiscent of the Nelvana animated segment during the Star Wars Holiday Special. The graphical homage is a nice nod considering how much the first GotG inherited from A New Hope and beyond. And by some coincidence, I recently watched Nelvana’s Droids series, so this style of design is fresh in my mind. (Even then, the Guardians special’s animation is much upgraded.)
Gunn’s humor remains strong throughout. Even in the smaller scenes we get with Rocket, Groot, Nebula, Kraglin, and others have the slanted, misfit charm that most of Gunn’s projects exude. The rampant ragging on actors by actors is a hoot. And cameos from collaborators like Flula Borg aren’t bad either.
Of course, this being a holiday special, there’s also some well-done sap (or, more charitably, emotional heft.) For all the toddler-like silliness of Mantis here, her fear that Peter learning about their common parentage would alienate him from her, out of a concern that seeing her would only dredge up his complicated feelings about his father, is very sympathetic. And him hearing the news and surprising her with the reaction that it, not Kevin Bacon, is the real greatest present he could ever get, is a telegraphed but no less sweet place to take the emotional throughline of the episode.
Likewise, I appreciate that the animated bookends start with Yondu being a Scrooge, only to gift Peter his first pair of blasters when he sees the care and charm the young Starlord put into his makeshift holiday celebration. Again, sappy and simple? Absolutely. But also roundly endearing and sweet.
Overall, the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special is infinitely more fun than its Star Wars equivalent, with a rollicking fish-out-of-water escapade, some great music and engaging visuals, and just enough holiday cheer to soften you up for the season.
(As an aside, between Bacon referencing his character’s death by arrow in Friday the 13th, and Kraglin explaining to him that his headfin helps him control arrows but he’s not very good at it yet, I was shocked that the post-credit scene wasn’t Kraglin accidentally impaling Bacon through the neck a la Mrs. Vorhees. Maybe they’re saving it for GotG Vol. 3?)
Nice little holiday special filled with holiday spirit and heart. The 45 min format is refreshing, no need to watch 8 episodes of stretched out story. Love the focus on Mantis and Drax for a change they make a cool and funny combo. The humor was funny just like the usual Guardians of the Galaxy. The inclusion of Kevin Bacon was a good idea and it didn't feel out of place. A really fun time and I want more of these specials!
9/10 because Groot got a Gameboy gameboy
After "Werewolf by Night", I would also classify the second special in the MCU as a success. James Gunn manages to establish a Christmas vibe right from the beginning. It's consistent throughout and never boring thanks to the short 44-minute running time. This special features all of the current Guardians, with Mantis and Drax taking the lead. Especially with Mantis, it was certainly time to learn a bit more about the character. You shouldn't expect anything significant to occur here. It's unlikely that it's required viewing for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Nonetheless, this brief Christmas episode starring the Guardians and Kevin Bacon is worth watching.
Some Bacon for Christmas dinner. ;)
I’m sorry i still can’t get over the fact that they referenced DC and Batman
Just some light-hearted fun with a few surprises along the way. To not have this turned into a miniseries is a tremendous relief. A forty-five-minute special was just the appropriate length for this story. Perhaps, even Hawkeye could have benefited from using a shorter format; who knows. James Gunn is responsible for some of the most successful comic book adaptations in recent years. Credit to him for yet another successful endeavour!
Rating: 7.2/10 (Good)
Mantis being Quill's Sister raises the emotional stakes
kevin bacon's song in the end was cute
Not a lot of substance, but the clever premise is enough to coast along for the brief runtime. Beyond that, the songs were actually surprisingly catchy. The humor on the other hand is less successful. There's only so much mileage you can get out of watching quirky aliens misunderstanding human culture, and the examples here feel pretty low effort.
It didn’t suck. 7 out of 10.
I don't know how they managed to make me shed those tears... I Loved it.
A really great and fun Christmas special!
Disney should do more of these. Funny, entertaining and short as it should be.
we liked it, it was well done and fun
[Disney+] To be a Holiday Special starring these characters, it ends up being too sappy and as cloying as any other Christmas special. The characters are versions for children's viewers who try to convey the Christmas spirit, but with little conviction. It feels like an improvised story on a short period of time, with actors who received the script shortly before shooting began, such as special guest Kevin Bacon. In a way, it's like a special that any other Marvel character could have starred in.
We didn’t need this
If lot of people on earth don't celebrate Christmas, why should aliens even know about it
I don't know why I watched this in April but it was still fun I guess
Delayed watching this for far too long. What a sweet and positive special.
9/10
Superb
Christmas Special
To show us what a
Close family they
Actually all are and just
How much they've all
Grown to love each
other as such.
The Christmas songs
Were frickin awesome amazing, the jokes were
so funny and the hole story with Peter and Bacon was really clever as we have listened to Peter go on about his love for Kevin and his movies for nearly a decade now, we all know just what it means to him
So it was wonderful to be apart of his joy,
especially at Christmas,
It had me filling up
at the end.
Speaking of the end
What a Beautiful and
Spectacular visual..wow,
Peters expression was
Mine exactly.
Mantis and Drax
stole the show and
are such an awesome
Team-up I never knew I needed,
loved that them so much together
as a duo.
Groots been on the
Juice lol, that band
Was amazing and the songs were fantastic,
(So cool),
I mean what's not to love,
Everything totally worked
and was so much fun,
I had a great festive time
That left me feeling warm
Inside.
And this Special and it's
Place in The MCU is
so important to show us
Just where
The Guardians
of the Galaxy
are at in their lives
and just How
they've all Grown
Within themselves
Because come
5th of May 2023
Guardians
of the Galaxy Vol 3
Everything is going
To change forever
as their lives will
Be on the line
One last time for the
Final Installment
and the end of
Their MCU run.
So I really needed
This Holiday Special,
One Last Time
To See Them Altogether
Happy and embracing each
Other as a family
because this
Is not just a Holiday
Special, this has a
"Special"
place in my
Heart.
I'm now ready to
Have one more
Adventure with
The biggest loosers
In the Galaxy.
What A Great
Christmas Present
This Was,
"THE BEST ONE
EVER".
MERRY CHRISTMAS
AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS
TO ALL.
i expected this film to be about adventure and whatnot and not entirely about a pagan holiday that has nothing to do with Christianity whatsoever.
Marvel cashes in on the holiday season with The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. In order to cheer up their friend Peter Quil, Mantis and Drax decide to throw him an impromptu Christmas party and kidnap Kevin Bacon as a Christmas gift. The plot is paper thin (resulting in a lot of filler), and while most of the Guardians cast appear in the Special, none of them are given much to do (aside from Mantis and Drax). Still, the make-up and effects are pretty good, and there are some fun action scenes of Mantis and Drax chasing down Kevin Bacon. Also, the comedy is well-done and the soundtrack features an interesting array of Christmas songs. It has its problems, but for what it is The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special is festively entertaining.
Bruh. Disney just loves pushing "family" into everything, doesn't it?
Disappointing and a waste of time. The only thing about story progression here is that Mantis is Peter's sister now But how? ._.
They animated an Irish Setter. What the fuck.
It's mostly stupid hijinks that you'd see in an American children's cartoon, and the music sequences (a highlight) and sentimental bits are an odd match for Jame's Gunn's brand of humor and storytelling (which I feel is especially violent and mean-spirited, without being cathartically misanthropic), but I admit that the last (live action) scene did make me tear up, just as intended. Well played, I guess.
Most of the film follows Mantis and Drax. Drax is hit or miss for me since he seems to constantly vacillate between a cartoon character aimed at 7-year-olds, and a developmentally challenged, but capriciously vicious killer with no conscience (see: James Gunn humor); Mantis is less adorable in her actions than usual, but Pom Klementieff could spit in my face and I'd just tell her to do it again.
I still don't appreciate the attempt at rehabilitating the character of Yondu, and I didn't appreciate it in the first part of GOTT2 that I watched before turning it off. Abusive, avaricious people who have made it to middle age without changing do not warrant or deserve forgiveness, or oxygen.
I f***ing love Christmas, though, and the festivities at the end were nice.
3 Thoughts After Watching ‘The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special’:
If Guardians of the Galaxy were a TV series.
I’m not entirely sure I ever knew Mantis was Peter’s sister.
It was cute. And great to see the gang again. But not much more than that. Unlike what Rocket said, another special is not that necessary.
For what it's worth, it ended up rather sweet, I think the Guardians are the best group to make such a holiday special for. The Mantis/Yondu characterization was sweet, and the plot was pretty nice. The weakest aspect, interesting enough, are the visuals. Didn't expect this from James Gunn. The colors were saturated, it looked overall bland (the real life scenes were understandably just in realistic lighting, but it just wasn't exciting to look at). As an animation enthusiast the 2d animated scenes were also a bummer, as they were 100% rotoscoped and it ended up looking extremely janky and weightless, disregarding every animation principle. Maybe because I watched some good movies recently but this special looked so bland and boring. I also didn't dig the songs that much.
Made me laugh a few times but it was the easy laughs with Drax and Mantis. I've enjoyed Gunn's work on Peacemaker where the comedy is balanced out with the gratiuous violence and dark plot but it's getting a bit old in Guardians.
Other than Mantis it felt like the actors weren't quite 'there' with this one. Like it was an SNL sketch or reunion skit something. I've lost a lot of love for Chris Pratt which doesn't help either.
The Mantis and Star Lord connection was sweet. But he was just ugh.
What a fun little Christmas special! That’s all I have to say about it.
It's fine. I think my Gunn Guardians stuff really needs the character drama and emotion to balance out the obnoxious weirdo humor, and this is much more weighed towards the latter. It's sentimental, but it's not hard hitting the way 2 was that really makes that film stand out among MCU films for me. Or what makes me think of the Telltale game fondly. Apparently the latest game also hit that balance.
Or to compare with his other superhero stuff, Suicide Squad balances the unguarded earnest heart on its sleeve stuff with edge and intrigue, something Peacemaker I hear also does. In 45 minutes, as a holiday special, this can't really do anything but be a run of the mill Christmas special. Even Bautista seems checked out, and I don't blame him, guy wasn't getting the best material in the mainline stuff, why show up for the holiday special? Please give my man some meaty material for 3 I'm begging you. And also Chris Pratt is here and that is always a negative now more than ever. And the Kevin Bacon stuff is a bit self congratulatory and winking for my taste.
The one thing that really shines about this special is Mantis getting more screentime and Klementieff getting to make her more than a racially iffy butt of the joke. Hopefully 3 continues the trend.
The short runtime essentially makes this less of a story, and more of a sequence of gags. To be fair, when it's not busy bombarding you with jokes, it's kind of sweet and sincere at times. It's a fun little romp where the Guardians of the Galaxy learn about Christmas and what it means. Or at least, that Christmas is not about kidnapping people.
Hate Christmas films and music. Adding Marvel characters didn't change that opinion.
This was Fun to watch with my kids..Drax & Mantis are a Funny Team together. Disney should of other Marvel Christmas Specials like this with other Marvel Characters. We enjoyed this.
nothing really happens and even the songs are not that great.
I think it's only worth watching for die hard guardians of the galaxy fans.
I enjoyed it, funny plot with a heart and nice to see the guardians again and it’s hyped me even more for the next film XD
"Wow. I guess all actors aren't complete pieces of shit."
What could’ve been a paycheck project for everyone involved, but in reality, there was so much care and love put into it. I didn’t expect it to touch my heartstrings. This forty-four-minute-long goofy Holiday special was better than most of Phrase four.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is going to be heartbreaking.
Well, I stuck with the Disney channel, tonight, and after a disappointing start of the evening with WILLOW and DISENCHANTED, I had a great time watching THE GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY HOLIDAY SPECIAL. Such fun! I give it an 8 (fun and heartfelt) out of 10. [Marvel Superheroes Christmas]
Equally sloppy and cozy old-school Christmas special. You can see that Gunn didn't put much effort into it, but it still works. The idea to involve Kevin Bacon is genius, and also resulted in a couple of absurdly horrifying home invasion moments. I wish I had kept it warm for the holidays instead of consuming it one month too early.
This is the type of Marvel content that should be cherished, by any metric. Is has the full cast of stars, a story that is self-contained, free on Disney+ and it isn't a superhero film; it is a Christmas tale containing superhero characters. This will easily be one that goes into my annual holiday rotation.
Rating: 4/5 - 8.5/10 - Would Recommend
Happy holiday everyone! Oh wait, what holiday is November 25th according to Marvel?)
Okay, this is really one of the few good Marvel movies, it has at least some kind of "branch" of the further development of our favorite characters, but I can’t call it something outstanding, yes, I have very high standards, you know, it would be more correct to call this special "Drax and Mantis", most of the 40-minute running time will be shown by them, and not in space, but in ordinary New York, there will be a hee-haha clowning over how stupid they are. The special is like deleted scenes from the 2nd or the third part, but it could be something more. Also, you will find 2 songs and a cartoon background story with 2 dollars animation. Of course, it’s worth watching, but not urgently, you can postpone it until christmas, there are no hints of the future of the MCU here) by the way, this is the last project of the 4th phase.
really good! the animation was kinda ehh tho. love that it is now canon that footloose exists in the mcu
The opening song is brilliant and funny. I also love the animated scenes since it’s poking fun at the Star Wars Holiday Special. Fun fact,
Kyra Sedgwick also was just a voice on the phone in her husband Kevin Bacon’s movie, Cop Car.
This is a lot of fun. Mantis steals the show.
A sweet reminder of the spirit of the holiday to be spent with family and friends, rejoicing in gifts and forgetting about the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Star-Lord will be delighted, but not Kevin Bacon, he will "save" Christmas and sing about it, some will get a toy, but Groot will not will be a Christmas tree, he is Groot. Not bad!
This was certainly fun, but a bit killed by a largely uninteresting and predictable plot, and Chris Pratt providing a surprisingly poor performance, with some one-note overacting for the majority of his screentime. Still, James Gunn somehow makes this movie an incredibly enjoyable movie while you're watching it, even if it's equally forgettable.
P.S. Having Groot seemingly created using practical effects was a pretty nice touch, although it did take some getting used to.
Solid tribute to Christmas and Christmas specials in general, really highlights the heart and characterization that has been sorely missing from Marvel lately. While some good goofs it does not sway my concern about some of James Gunn’s humor.
More of a make-you-smile Marvel movie than a heavy plot-advancer for the Guardians aside from them owning Knowhere now. Hard to ignore how powerful Mantis really is in the MCU too.
James Gunn never disappoints. Saving grace of MARVEL
My favourite thing that Marvel put out this year. Gonna suck losing Gunn.
Ahh sweet, nicely done. Drax should stay away from the christmas snacks tho, he's getting fat.
An excellent little holiday special that serves as character development for Mantis. Pom Klementieff gives a phenomenal performance as she's trying to right the wrongs her father did while also trying to save Christmas for Peter. What's also impressive for this special is that most of this is done with practical effects (except for the spaceship, obviously). Batista, as usual, kills it as Drax. He also goes through a bit of a character arc, too. Kevin Bacon was actually quite surprising in this, actually having more of a role than the trailer let on. Him actually being touched about being Peter's childhood hero was legit good stuff. This special will definitely be a mainstay for my Christmas marathon for years to come!
It was just awesome. so many Easter eggs and this is definitely a prequel to Vol.3
Shout by TheLazyReviewerBlockedParent2022-11-25T09:22:19Z
Another Special Presentation from Marvel, and another success. This is the way Marvel should move forward as the TV shows are too much. But this is great fun. It's simple, effective and fun. This will probably something I watch for many Christmas' to come. It doesn't break the mold, but it's a fun 45 minutes at Christmas time, especially if you love these characters.
This is really a Mantis showcase. This is the best she has looked so far and hopefully that continues on to Volume 3. Also the music is fantastic. DC is in very good hands with James Gunn.