REVIEW: ‘The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special’ Is a Perfect Christmassy Treat
5/5 of Kevin Bacon's yard decorations.
When you think about the Guardians of the Galaxy, Christmas might not be the first thing that you go to. But having human Peter Quill lead the charge really does help get you into the holiday spirit. But The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special is all about how Yondu ruined Christmas for Peter when he was a kid (based on information that Kraglin gave to Mantis and Drax and the rest of the team), so both Mantis and Drax make it their mission to make Christmas up to Quill.
That leads them on a quest to find a perfect gift for him. And now stop and think for a second about how Drax and Mantis think, and you’ll know exactly where we’re going. To kidnap Kevin Bacon, of course! The entire special is just a heartwarming look into how much the Guardians love Peter Quill and what they’re willing to do to make him happy.
And it’s also hilarious to see real actor Kevin Bacon interacting with celestial beings like Mantis and Drax in his Hollywood home.
Giving the gift of Kevin Bacon
Everyone knows exactly three things about Peter Quill: He loves music, he used to pretend that his father was David Hasselhoff, and his hero is Kevin Bacon. In fact, he saved the galaxy like Kevin Bacon saved that town in Footloose—by dancing. So it isn’t a surprise that Mantis and Drax thought to bring Kevin Bacon to Peter.
It is just chaos how they go about it because it is, obviously, a Guardians of the Galaxy mission and nothing can ever go that smoothly. Kevin is getting really into the holiday spirit with fun lawn decorations and talking to his wife, actress Kyra Sedgwick, on the phone about their family celebration, when Mantis and Drax use a map to find his home. So, at least we know those maps to the stars’ homes are legit!
And while the special is about the Guardians, it is so nice seeing Kevin Bacon having this amount of fun because he’s so committed to everything James Gunn and company threw at him.
It’s Mantis’ time to shine
Pom Klementieff joined the team in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 when they went to meet Peter’s father, and while she’s been featured frequently, we haven’t gotten much from her outside of a few one liners and Mantis typically being a hilarious nod to something. So seeing her front and center and taking the special on her shoulders was fantastic!
She’s on the journey with Dave Bautista’s Drax, and while he’s fantastic as always, this was Mantis’ time to finally have something to herself, and she made it her mission to make sure that Peter had a good holiday. This is an important entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the lore of the Guardians, but it’s also just a really fun look into the brilliance that Klementieff has as a performer, and getting to see her just have a lot of fun with Kevin Bacon and Dave Bautista is just the topper on the Christmas tree.
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The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special hits Disney+ on November 25, and what a perfect way to get into the holiday spirit!
(featured image: Marvel Entertainment)
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