MPAA Rating: TV-14/Genre: Sci-Fi Holiday Comedy/Stars: Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Sean Gunn, The Old 97’s, Kevin Bacon, Flula Borg; Voices of: Bradley Cooper, Maria Bakalova, Vin Diesel, Luke Klein, Michael Rooker, Kyra Sedgwick/Runtime: 44 minutes

I think it is safe to say that even though we as movie goers have not had the joy of getting a solo slice of cinema for the beloved ragtag Marvel superhero team that is the Guardians of the Galaxy since the seemingly long-ago year of 2017, that doesn’t mean our favorite space-based team has been nonexistent from the MCU altogether. Indeed, not only were they pivotal to the events that occurred in both Infinity War as well as Endgame in 2018 and 2019 respectively, but 2022 has also seen the team both show up for the first 20-30 minutes of Thor: Love and Thunder as well as memorialized at Disney World courtesy of getting to be the focus of the first roller coaster at EPCOT. Yet as awesome as those times we have gotten with them truly are, I still feel that you won’t be able to locate a more recent reminder for why everyone cherishes this group as much as the project I am reviewing for you today in the form of The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. Indeed here is an abundantly comedic, agreeable, and wonderfully emotional Disney+ special that proves to not just be a wonderful bow on Phase 4, but a terrific way to get this year’s holiday season started in delightful earnest as well as a fantastic quasi-sorta warm up act to get audiences even more excited for next year’s highly anticipated 3rd Guardians solo film. Indeed, here is a project that, much in the vein of its fellow special Werewolf by Night, is definitive proof that the MCU moving forward doesn’t exactly require lengthy series or even whole slices of cinema to keep these characters and their respective stories moving forward. All they need, like the MCU has become known for bringing to audiences across the planet, is an equal mix of comedy, heart, talent, and spectacle to spare.

The plot is as follows: Set in the aftermath of their 20-30 minutes’ worth of screentime appearance in Thor: Love and Thunder, but just before the events of their 3rd solo outing, The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special sees that our titular group has managed to create a new base in Knowhere aka the former home of The Collector who they purchased it from. Yet despite all their accomplishments and all the hard work they have been engaged in at getting the base up and ready to go, we still find that group leader Peter Quill isn’t exactly in the best of spirits. In fact, it would appear that he is quite despondent due to both the untimely passing of Gamora during the events of Infinity War as well as the fact that around this time on Earth Christmastime is approaching. Thus, upon hearing Kraglin describe to them the first and only time Peter tried to celebrate Christmas upon being taken from Earth as a boy, we see that whilst most of the team takes the story and moves on, two of the team in the form of BFFs Drax and Mantis have other ideas come to mind and no visions of dancing sugar plums are by no means involved I’m sorry to say. Rather, the duo has decided to take it upon themselves to try and give Peter a Christmas to remember with them and the rest of his new-found family. However, there does seem to be one slight problem to their genuinely heartfelt idea. That being how best can they go about accomplishing this monumental task. Thankfully, we see that Mantis has a solution to this as well. A solution that we soon see takes the shape and form of her and Drax traveling back to Earth in order to find and locate a man that Quill has talked to them about and who he has idolized since he was a boy. A man who happens to be one of Earth’s greatest heroes and whose name…..is Kevin Bacon (yes as in THAT Kevin Bacon). Thus, can our completely clueless duo find this icon amongst a few good men and convince him in their own distinct style to come back with them so they can make this a Christmas to remember for the man who has given them so much to say nothing of made them the family that they are today or is this one holiday idea that is about to sink to the bottom of Mystic River and stay there for all time? That dear reader I will leave for you to discover for yourself…..

Now right off the bat it should be noted that the vast majority of what we have gotten out of Phase 4 has not exactly been as on point in terms of quality as the work presented in the first three phases in the MCU turned out to be. Thankfully, that is certainly not the case with this project. Indeed what helps to ensure that The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special work on the level that it does is returning scribe/helmer James Gunn is by no means obligated to have this either plant any seeds for future works within the MCU or lead into a bigger overarching narrative. As a result, this Holiday Special is permitted to be its own delightfully strange little entity and is given quite a bit in terms of free reign to do what it would like. A creative choice that endearingly will remind you of the work that Gunn was able to do with the very first Guardians film back in 2014. Suffice it to say that this might be a goofy and not exactly integral component to the MCU machine, but this is also a key reason why it works on the level that it does. It should also be said that the smaller scope for this special is another reason it turns out to be as joyful as it is. Indeed, Mantis and Drax might traverse the galaxy in this to find Quill his perfect gift, but this still nevertheless gives off the vibe of being delightfully warm and heartfelt in how it decides to regale us with this particular narrative. Indeed, more than anything, this holiday special is one that tries to concentrate a fair amount on the idea that this group may be a family that is meshed together via circumstance, but they are still a family nevertheless. A claim that this special puts quite the emotional focus on especially at points where we see Star-Lord be able to show just how much he genuinely loves and appreciates his friends. Along with that though, this holiday special also operates as definitive proof of Gunn’s immense talent as a regaler of stories especially when he is given creative freedom to do practically whatever he would like. To be sure, we have seen wonderful proof of this here lately with both his 2021 take on the DC team that is The Suicide Squad and his Peacemaker TV show respectively. However, it has been a hot minute since we have seen his skill showcased in a PG-13 framework and between his wild sense of humor, terrific utilization of emotion, and a unorthodox yet top-notch soundtrack it is clear the man hasn’t lost his touch. Finally, and speaking of the soundtrack, it should be noted that Gunn (as with the titular team’s first two cinematic entries) does an absolutely marvelous job at giving what we are seeing play out on screen another soundtrack that is top-flight in every sense of the word right down to one of the finest British Christmas tunes ever contributed to the realm of music. Indeed, I don’t want to go into too much detail about the tracks in question because I promised you right from the beginning that I would never give you spoilers. With that in mind though, what I can tell you is that don’t be surprised if there are a few novel musical moments in this that should become successful in their own right. Suffice it to say that Gunn manages to not only do a wonderful job of avoiding any kind of cheese factor to this narrative, but also in blending into this special a wonderful helping of both amusement as well as Christmas spirit in equal measure. Thus in no less than an hour, what he has managed to give us here is an immediate Christmas gem (complete with a rocking opening jingle) that I can with zero hesitation say that audiences will most assuredly take time out of their future hectic Winter schedules to sit down and enjoy for years and years to come.

Now in terms of the work done in front of the camera, it should be noted that the work done by the whole cast is once again no less than top-flight in every sense of the word. With that in mind though, there is one thing that is worth noting. That being that, if we are being honest, Peter and the majority of the Guardians team don’t get as much in the way of screentime in this as you might be thinking. With that in mind though, I would like to point out that the screentime Pratt is given does have quite the emotional hook to it. With that in mind, it should be noted that this is also a chance for this special to put a delightful concentration on the pair of characters amongst the Guardians who usually provide the biggest laughs: Drax and Mantis. In that regard, it should be said that their team-up in this special is genuine magic (to say nothing of evidence that a Drax and Mantis spin-off would be fantastic) as Bautista and Klementieff are a dynamic comedy duo. Indeed, I know that Bautista has at times taken issue with how Drax is utilized mostly for comedy in this franchise, but the truth is that he brings this character and his comedic timing to life in a way that few if any others genuinely could. With that said though, this special is one that belongs to Pom Klementieff whose portrayal of Mantis here is THE performance to beat. Indeed, Klementieff does an absolutely wonderful job of taking her character go from the supporting role she has had in the MCU so far to the lead role for all intents and purposes in this and in so doing gives her equal amounts of comedy and heart to say nothing of a moment in this franchise that is no more and no less than genuinely beautiful and heartfelt. Thus it is truly a fantastic performance and proof that Klementieff deserves the opportunity to lead more projects because she is a phenomenal performer who has the talent to do so. I also love the work done here by Kevin Bacon who does a genuinely game job of playing a highly (I stress that word incidentally) exaggerated version of himself that finds himself both kidnapped by a pair of genuinely clueless aliens and then having himself and his body of work criticized by these same aliens only to slowly but surely come to understand what it is they are trying to do and to some degree actually get on board with meeting their leader so he can try to make the guy’s Christmas just a wee bit better. At the same time the fact that this special provides Bacon the opportunity to do a pretty terrific musical number where he gets to show the rest of the cast what Christmas is really all about is pretty sweet in its own right. Finally, there is one last performance and character that I would love to bring up and that would be the character of Cosmo the Space Dog whose voice is delightfully provided by Borat 2’s Maria Bakalova. Yes, Cosmo doesn’t get a lot in the way of screentime, but based off what is showcased here I have a sneaky suspicion that this newest addition to the Guardians roster is going to earn the love and admiration of fans worldwide and the vocal work done by Bakalova simply reinforces how delightful this character truly is. Suffice it to say that the work done in front of the camera is no less than grade-A and a genuine delight.

All in all we have timeless holiday works, great holiday works, good holiday works, Adam Sandler’s hilariously stupid yet equally as joyfully raunchy attempt at one, and that one particularly infamous Star Wars holiday special, but the truth is that there has never been one quite like the one provided to us here by The Guardians of the Galaxy and James Gunn. Sure, due in large part to being a holiday-themed type project for a series that takes place in outer space, I can see how this one will be (however unfairly) compared to the infamous one that managed to incorporate some of the key characters from the original Star Wars trilogy. Gratefully, helmer/scribe James Gunn manages to beat Lucasfilm at its own game and is able to blend in a wonderful celebrity role, some lively and (dare I say it?) spirited song and dance numbers, and copious amounts of holiday tidings even whilst still being able to keep in place the spirit and heart to the team’s solo cinematic efforts to all come together and create a project that I guarantee will leave you with a smile on your face and a warm and comforting feeling in your heart and soul respectively. Suffice it to say therefore that at the end of the day, The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special is no more and no less than a genuinely delightful surprise holiday present. Sure it might not significantly raise the stakes in terms of the overarching narrative that the MCU is currently working with in regards to the Multiverse Saga, but the mixture of winning performances, genuine holiday cheer, belly laughs, a rocking holiday soundtrack, and no less than awarding work behind the camera help to make this one of the most legitimately magical holiday specials I have seen in the past 30 years period to say nothing of one that will leave you with a big smile on your face easily. Thus, if there are a pair of crucial takeaways that I would like to leave you with they would be as follows: make sure to wait for the post-credits scene (something you should know by now to do with anything Marvel Cinematic Universe-related) and honestly, I think that not only can we expect bigger and better things for that Kevin Bacon character, but I definitely think that he is going to make for a genuinely fine screen icon one day. Make of that dear reader what thou will. On a scale of 1-5 I give The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special “2022” a solid 4 out of 5.