‘The Guardians of the Galaxy: Holiday Special’ is a short and sweet holiday silver screen confection. Except it never graced the silver screen as it is only currently available streaming on Disney Plus. While it is a feature, its runtime is a brief forty-four minutes. There are Marvel Cinematic Universe TV episodes longer than this feature. Regardless, it’s everything audiences have come to love about the Guardians of the Galaxy packed into one Christmas special. It is offbeat, irreverent, and sentimental with signature eye-popping visuals.
The entire original cast shows up at some point, sans Zoe Saldaña as Gamora for obvious reasons. The story's focus is on Mantis (Pom Klementieff) and Drax (Dave Bautista) as they travel to earth to retrieve a very special Christmas present for Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) giving Klementieff in particular her time to shine as the feature further fleshes out Mantis.
Writer/Director James Gunn, who directed this feature along with 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 and 2', is known for hitting effective emotional punches amidst his comic chaos and this films lands on sublime sweet note.
‘The Guardians of the Galaxy: Holiday Special’ isn’t just a one off film though. It is embedded in the MCU canon, referencing past films while expanding lore that will have an effect on future storylines.
Although the MCU phase four has knocked it out of the park with villains, ‘The Guardians of the Galaxy: Holiday Special’ stands out by simply not having one. It’s part of what makes this Special unique. The feature takes a break from the villainy of the galaxy and lets the characters exist in a simple albeit silly narrative and it is a refreshing change of pace.
‘Guardians of the Galaxy A Holiday Special’ is a thoroughly enjoyable respite from both the standard Christmas fair and a typical MCU feature.
MY STAR RATING 3.75/5
If you are in the mood for less conventional holiday films, Brown Deer Public Library has a variety of said films available to check out
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