‘The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special’ reviews tease a ‘delightful’ experience

Before you wait to gorge on the full meal that will be ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3’, James Gunn has served up a starter for the fans in the form of ‘The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special’. Exactly what it says, the special follows Drax (Dave Bautista) and  Mantis (Pom Klementieff) go out of their way, literally, to attempt to cheer up Peter Quill or Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), who is missing Gamora (Zoe Saldana). While the Gamora of the main MCU timeline was killed by her adoptive father Thanos, the alt-timeline Gamora refused Peter’s advances as she did not know him.

Karen Gillan, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Sean Gunn, and Michael Rooker also return from previous ‘Guardians’ movies. Kevin Bacon and Maria Bakalova join the cast. Yes, Bacon is canonically a part of the MCU now. And he is playing himself.

‘The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special’ has scored 89 per cent on the review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes. The critical consensus reads, “More of a stocking stuffer than a fully-rounded parcel, this yuletide excursion is a delightful showcase for Drax, Mantis, and a very game Kevin Bacon.”

Here are some of the reviews:

Variety’s Jordan Moreau wrote, “There will be no coal in James Gunn’s stocking this year. His Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special is stuffed with funny, feel-good Christmas joy, and it’s one of the best pieces of content Marvel Studios has released in years.”

Empire magazine’s Chris Hewitt wrote, “Even the most hardened of hearts couldn’t fail to be softened a little by Drax beating the living crap out of a man dressed as a robot.”

Rolling Stone’s David Fear wrote, “What you get, in other words, is more or less what you’d think a holiday special from Gunn and the Guardians would be. Even the special’s soundtrack is on-brand.”

IGN’s Alex Stedman wrote, “The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special delivers all the Christmas cheer, sentiment, catchy musical numbers, and laugh-out-loud moments you could ask for in a quick 43 minutes.

‘The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special’ is scheduled to be released on Disney+ on November 25, 2022.