Star-Lord, Drax, Rocket, Mantis, and Groot engage in some spirited shenanigans.
Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, Pom Klementieff, and Kevin Bacon
James Gunn once again proves that no one is capable of handling these characters the way he does. In only 40 minutes he captures so much humor, creativity, and emotion.
This special presentation mainly follow Drax and Mantis and they are great. They have great chemistry and its nice seeing their more relatable side, not in a constant battle. Unfortunately what was suppose to be a major reveal of the special was leaked early by Disney, but somehow it's still quite emotional and al sot made me tear up. The Guardians love fort Peter and wanting to give him a good Christmas is very sweet and really enhances their bond.
In common James Gunn fashion this special has an outstanding soundtrack. A bunch of unique old holiday songs including 2 originals really bring the whole thing together. Speaking of unique you can't not talk about Kevin Bacon. You can tell he just had so much fun making this and really just embraced it. He's so over the top which works great for these character and this setting.
This also does a good job at setting up for Guardians 3, which we've been warned will be quite emotional. Over the years the bond between not only the characters but the cast and crew has grown so much. Saying goodbye to some of these characters in May is going to be heartbreaking.
While the special does a lot right it does have some slight issues such as Groots odd designs and the short runtime. It would've been nice to see how other alien cultures experience christmas but those are nitpicks more than anything.
James Gunn is truly a master at his craft and this proves that fact even more. I am beyond excited to see how he wraps up the Guardians next year but am dreading the day all the same.
