The Guardian of the Galaxy Holiday Special - a review

Back in the day, when Marvel announced that they will make a movie featuring a talking racoon, a vocabulary-challenged tree and Andy from Parks and Rec, people were somewhat sceptic. After the epic highs of The Avengers and the surprisingly grown-up approach of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, this idea of a ragtag team of B-category heroes seemed... Odd.

Then the first movie came and we fell in love with these self-proclaimed assholes. At least I know I did. Incompetent as they were by themselves (something that was unique in the world of billionaire geniuses, spies, super soldiers and gods), as a team, they became something much more. They became the Guardians and above all, they became a family (Vin Diesel, who voiced Groot, would be so proud now).

Then the second movie came and the stakes were higher than ever and some of them even died... A first for Marvel, really. The movie was a success and I still can't, to this day, listen to Father and Son without my throat and eyes feeling funny. The Guardians franchise earned its place amongst the big ones, from a weird joke they grew to be a genuine part of this huge universe. So much so, that when Disney tried to cancel and fire James Gunn, the brain behind the movies, they found that they couldn't: both the cast and crew and the audience fought back, threatening boycotts and leaving the studio.

And so, Gunn was back for a final Guardians adventure, and in between, for a Christmas special.

We find the Guardians after Endgame and Thor: Love and Thunder. The god of weird screaming goats and badly timed jokes is gone and Gamorra is still missing, following her departure at the end of Endgame. The family has new members, though: Gamorra's sister-enemy, Nebula, who's apparently tired of pretending that she hates the Guardians, Cosmo the Russian talking space dog, who has telekinetic powers now for some reason, and Yondu's former second-in-command, Kraglin.

It's Christmas time. Quite surprisingly, people who are living in Knowhere, this weird and morbid place that is basically the severed head of an ancient celestial being, have little to no knowledge of what Christmas actually is. Mantis and Drax decide that their friend and captain, Peter must be sad about a holiday he didn't celebrate in the last 20 years, and definitely not because the love of his life died, came back to life and forgot she ever knew him. No, it must be the Christmas thing.

So Mantis figures she'd do what any good friend would: go and kidnap Peter's childhood hero to give him as a present. Did I mention that these people are perfectly unfit for any kind of society?

They fly to Earth and assault various people, like street performers and police officers, but in a joyous, playful way, and almost everybody gets out of the whole thing without needing medical attention and therapy afterwards.

After some ruckus, brain-washing, soul-searching and singing, Kevin Bacon leaves, promising to see the gang over another Christian holiday that does not exist in space. We got a few heartfelt scenes, and the end credits are rolling.

It wasn't perfect, and it didn't necessarily add anything to the extended universe, but it had that special Guardians of the Galaxy charm and magic we all love. Loveable characters, a sweet plot, terrible CGI (seriously, Marvel/Disney, do you have money problems or something?), a cool soundtrack and joke after joke (what's more, they aren't even killing the nice moments, so extra credit for that. Looking at you, Love and Thunder.).

If you want your Christmas season to start off with something new, or just yearning for new Marvel content, or are a fan of the Guardians, you won't be disappointed. Available on Disney+.