*Premise spoilers—nothing that hasn’t been revealed in the trailers.*
Marvel’s second Disney+ TV special. For my money, while not nearly as excellent as Werewolf by Night, it’s a fun, irreverent way to spend 45 minutes on a little Christmas chaos with the MCU’s dysfunctional space family.
Peter has been having a hard time since the events of Infinity War and Endgame, and Mantis wants to do something special for him. With the Earth holiday Christmas coming up, she enlists Drax to come to Earth and help her get Peter the best Christmas present ever: his childhood hero, Kevin Bacon.
There’s a lot of what makes a quintessential James Gunn Guardians story in here: on-point needle drops, one-liners and comic scenarios, oodles of alien nonsense, some entertaining action, and moments of very genuine heart. It’s all the “stuff” of a Guardians movie packed into 45 minutes, and although I’d say things mostly come together, it falls short of measuring up to Vol. 1 or 2—or Werewolf by Night, for that matter. While the films have space to let you get into the rhythm of the shifting tones, and Werewolf by Night presents you with a compact, complete story in its limited screentime, the Guardians holiday special has an episodic feel to it. It’s amusing, it’s diverting, but even though there are certain plot elements that I imagine will be relevant to Vol. 3, it doesn’t make me excited for what comes next the way Werewolf by Night did.
But enough about what the special isn’t. Let’s focus on what it is. Mainly, it’s just fun. This is primarily a Mantis-Drax team-up vehicle, with the other characters bookending the story. For me, these two can be hit-or-miss together, but they work pretty well here. I love everything about Drax and Mantis tooling around Los Angeles, seeing the sights and being super-obvious aliens as they search for Kevin Bacon. Honestly, I would watch copious outtakes of them exploring the Hollywood Walk of Fame or getting down in a gay bar.
Like all the Guardians, Mantis and Drax have basically good hearts but flexible morals, and the special never loses sight of the fact that their completely whacked plan to kidnap Kevin Bacon and gift him to Peter is really Bad Idea Jeans. At the same time, we see what motivates them, especially Mantis, and in their own chaotic, misguided way, they’re just trying to do something nice for a friend.
The opening and closing sequences with the other characters is fun too. I like Peter rapidly losing patience with a wildly ill-informed Christmas ditty written by alien musicians who want an Earthling’s feedback. Every moment of Nebula’s brief time onscreen is a sour-faced delight, and while they’re used sparingly, we get some amusing moments from both Rocket and Groot. All the main cast is present here (minus Zoe Saldana, for plot-related reasons,) along with a few Guardians-adjacent characters and, of course, a very game Kevin Bacon.
Warnings
Comic book violence, language, drinking, some “don’t try this at time,” and thematic elements.
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