Oh, Marvel. The cultural juggernaut that has been ever-present on our cinema screens and streaming services for the past decade or so. I have never been a huge Marvel fan, and with the newer films that I have seen all being pretty terrible, I don’t see myself fully buying in anytime soon. However, I do enjoy both Guardians of the Galaxy films, and so I was not opposed to watching The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special (2022), especially as James Gunn and the whole cast returned to make it. The special mostly follows Mantis (Pom Klementieff) and Drax (Dave Bautista) who want to give Peter (Chris Pratt) a Christmas to remember to help him cheer up after having lost Gamora (Zoe Saldana). They remembered that Peter old always talk about the exploits of the great hero Levin Bacon and devise a plan to travel to earth and bring him to Peter as a present.
As you can tell from the synopsis, and if you have seen either of the Guardians of the Galaxy films that proceed this, the tone isn’t exactly a serious one. Add on top of that that this is a holiday special, and you basically get a 40-minute mini adventure with this character where stakes are low, and the fun is high. I genuinely had a very good time with this. Is it a Cinematic marvel (no pun intended)? No. But it is a bit of fun for the season. Having the whole cast and James Gunn coming back adds a lot of credence to the film as it means that it does feel like a carry-on of the Guardians of the Galaxy story and not just a one-off short that is completely pointless. And yet it doesn’t focus on anything outside of its own story and so it means unlike so much of the other Marvel material that is being released at the minute feels like it requires homework to properly enjoy. The film also has great production value and doesn’t feel half-arsed. Overall, this basically falls into the category of if you like Guardians of the Galaxy you were probably like this, and if not, you probably won’t. It isn’t anything more or anything less than a bit of Christmasy fun.
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