The GOTG Holiday Special is perfect for Christmas-watching with your family.
The movie follows our group of intergalactic superheroes after the events of Avengers: Endgame.
If you have watched Avengers: Infinity War and End game, you know that Thanos sacrificed Gamora in return for the soul stone.
The 2014 version of Gamora traveled through time and is currently residing in the present timeline of the MCU.
But she had never met Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) before 2014, so she doesn’t have an emotional bond with the guardians of the galaxy.
This puts Quill in emotional turmoil, which is the basis for this film’s plot.
The film starts with a short animated sequence that shows a time in the past when Quill tried to celebrate Christmas with Yondu.
The Christmas was a disaster, and then we are pulled back to the present time where Mantis is telling Drax that she is Quill’s biological sister (from Ego-The Living Planet’s lineage).
Now Mantis and Drax decide to cheer up Quill as Christmas is near.
Since both are alien species, they don’t know a thing about Christmas.
Yet they try to make this Christmas special for Quill.
So what will they do to cheer Quill up?
They decide to abduct Quill’s favorite hero from Earth- Kevin Bacon, as a Christmas present for Quill.
Sounds Ridiculous?
Yes, it is! But if you have a Director like James Gunn, you are bound to get the unexpected, and that’s what is so great about these guardians of the galaxy films.
They never fail to surprise you.
So Drax and Mantis travel on their jet to Earth and begin their quest to capture Kevin Bacon, and that’s what the film is all about.
Not every film needs a world-ending plot; sometimes, it’s just enough to have a heartfelt story that the audience can relate to.
The Funny and the Witty
The movie is filled with extremely enjoyable setpieces, and one that stood out was MAntis using her powers to make a Lady give all of her money to Mantis.
Drax and Mantis also have a lot of fun trying to find Kevin Bacon, and they end up in a pub.
Seeing them drink and dance and have a blast with normal humans is very entertaining.
There is a scene where Drax and Mantis went against some police officers when they were trying to abduct Kevin Bacon.
The action sequence that followed was surprisingly witty and dumb fun.
But don’t worry, since there are plenty of Easter Eggs hidden in this film for die-hard Marvel fans.
At the conclusion of the film, everyone is giving presents to their friends, and this opens up the doors for some welcomed easter eggs.
Here is a non-exhaustive list of Easter Eggs in the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special:
Bucky Arm:
As a Chrismas Gift to Rocket, Nebula gives him Bucky, aka The Winer Soldiers vibranium hand.
How did she acquire it? God knows.
But it does give a fun nod to the sequence in Avengers: Infinity war when Rocket asks Bucky how much the arm costs.
And Bucky replies that it is not for sale.
Who knew that Rocket would eventually get this arm as a freaking Christmas present.
Well, this brings us to the question.
What about The Winter Soldier?
Is he now supposed to fight without a limb, or has he retired or something?
We don’t get the answers to any of these questions, but this is for sure that we might get to see some change in winter soldier’s arsenal from now on.
Random people dressing up as the Avengers:
We get to see a number of references to our favorite superheroes when Drax and Mantis first arrive on Earth.
One girl is dressed as Ms. Marvel. A guy is wearing Captain America’s Costume, and another is wearing Antman’s homemade suit, black widow cosplay, and many others.
Even Jack sparrow from the pirates of the Caribbean is teased here.
So be on the lookout for these fun Easter Eggs.
DC is now in the Marvel universe:
Well, not technically, but we get name drops of Batman and Bruce Wayne; thus, we can interpret that DC superheroes may also exist in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as fictional characters.
Ringo from the Eternals
There is also a glimpse of a movie poster starring Ringo.
For those of you who don’t know, Ringo is part of the Eternals and has been hiding his identity from the world.
To do this, he acts in his own films, and one of his movie posters can be seen clearly in the Guardians of the galaxy holiday special.
When Drax and MAntis are traversing the street drunk, we can see the camera slowly transition from the poster to them.
Kevin Bacon is here
The most amazing thing that this film does is that it introduces Kevin bacon as a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Introducing a real actor as himself is quite meta, but James Gunn didn’t stop there.
Kevin Bacons’ real-life wife also pops up on a phone call.
The Good:
Guardian of The Galaxy Holiday Special is a quintessential watch for every Marvel fan.
It does bridge the gap between Avengers: Endgame and Guardian of The Galaxy 3.
The inclusion of Kevin Bacon in the Marvel Cinematic Universe was a blast to watch.
The Easter Eggs were all really funny and provided some context for what might happen next in the MCU.
The emotional bond between Peter Quill and Mantis finally gets some limelight.
It was great to see a buffed-up teenage version of Groot.
The Christmas theme visuals were a spectacle to watch and gave this movie a vibe of its own.
Last but not least, as usual, the musical score was damn near perfect and suited the overall vibe of celebrating Christmas with silly aliens.
The Bad:
The only thing bad about this movie is its short runtime.
It is a standalone special premiere with a runtime of under 45 minutes.
We wanted to see more of our favorite superheroes, but we’ll have to wait for future Marvel projects.
Where to watch the Guardian Of The Galaxy Holiday Special?
You can watch it with a subscription to Disney+ right now.
Conclusion
An enjoyable and entertaining watch for all the die-hard Marvel fans.
GOTG Holiday Special might be the most appropriate film to watch with your friends and family this Christmas.