Guardians of the Galaxy is a superhero film franchise by Marvel, and which is based on the magazines.
In 2020, Marvel announced that they would be releasing a Christmas special of the beloved series, which would also be written by James Gunn, and which would star Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Sean Guun, Michael Rooker and Kevin Bacon. In this blog, I will review it.
Set after Thanos’ attack, the special reintroduces us to the Guardians, who have settled into the planet Knowhere, where they have also learnt about the earthly festival, Christmas. But despite trying their best to understand what it is about, it’s clear from the start that they haven’t exactly understood it correctly, which becomes even more clear during the performance of ‘I Don’t Know What Christmas Is (But Christmastime Is Here’. Nonetheless, they are still on a mission to make Christmas unforgettable for Peter Quill, after hearing from Kraglin Obfonteri how Yondu (Quill’s adopted father) ruined Christmas when they were kids.
This inspires Mantis to get Quill something for Christmas, that will also stop her telling him that she is secretly his sister, so she and Dax set out to earth to capture Quill’s favourite actor, Kevin Bacon. They bring him back to Knowhere, where they receive mixed responses, but eventually Bacon agrees to perform for the inhabitants of Knowhere. At the end of the special, Mantis tells Quill she’s his half sister, which he tells her is the best present he ever received.
There’s a lot of things I liked and some things I disliked about the Special, and a couple of different genres that fit into it as well, so instead of trying to fit all of them into one line, I’ll section them out here.
Starting with what I disliked (just so I can get the one thing I disliked out of the way), I found the opening slightly weird. I don’t think it was anything to do with the narrative, the direction or the acting in it, but the choice to have an animated scene at the start didn’t really make sense to me, especially since there aren’t many Marvel movies (if any) that have scenes like that in them. But anyway, I would have preferred if that had’ve been live action, although when it turned back to another animated scene at the end, I was happier with it because I expected it.
Moving on to the things I liked, however, I promise there’s a lot more things that I can start talking about now.
Not long after the opening animated scene ends, we learn how much the inhabitants of Knowhere know about Christmas. The most memorable way this is emphasised is during the performance of ‘I Don’t Know What Christmas Is (But Christmastime Is Here’ which I loved so much that I fitted it into my Christmas Playlist last year, because it is such a brilliant song!
What makes this song so good, is the comedic way it looks at Christmas! While it starts off mentioning that Christmas is a celebration on the third planet closest to the sun that seems quite fun — which is quite decent — it soon describes Santa as a furry freak with epic superpowers, a mass burglar and a pro at picking locks! Santa isn’t the only one to have his reputation though, though, cuz Mrs Clause is described as someone who ‘Works the Poll (and) plans her man’s demise’, while the elves are described as plotting to stand up to stab out Santa’s eyes. But my favourite part of the song was when Bzermiktokolok feeds in the questions ‘What the heck’s a Turtledove? And who lit up that deer?’ which I think will have a lot of adults laughing.
 Moving further into the 44 minute special, I also loved how much comedy Mantis and Drax brought to the storyline. The effort they took to track down Kevin Bacon was seriously impressive, and it was funny how they resorted to chasing him down and even causing a police chase and a car crash. My favourite comedic parts of the duo’s onscreen moments included when Mantis leant down to the passengers in the car that was turned upside down and begged them to understand that they were only chasing down the legendary Kevin Bacon, and their discuss when they learn Kevin Bacon is just an actor.
There are some emotional scenes as well, though, such as when we get to the end and watch Mantis admitting to Peter that she is actually his sister. The way the timeline has been structured allows enough time to laugh at all the action that happens when Mantis, Drax, and Kevin Bacon arrive back and onto Knowhere and after Peter receives his present, then you’re allowed to calm down as you watch how panicked Peter gets and as we learn how he wants everyone else to sort the scenario out, and it then gets emotional at the end. The way this scene is written and performed also leaves a warmhearted feeling as we see the final family moments between Peter and Mantis, and that also carries into the final scene.
The last scene features Yondu who has a change of heart, and who decides to celebrate with Peter. While the scene is animated, I think it works better than the opening, in a way that will have you feeling warm inside.
