It’s time for the festive season and the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first-ever holiday (Christmas) special (as well as its second Marvel Studios Presentation after Werewolf By Night in October 2022). What you see in the trailers and promotional trailers is literally what you get with The Guardians Of The Galaxy Holiday Special; a fun little romp and episode with our favourite galactic heroes.

All I Want For Christmas

Just like Marvel’s Werewolf By Night, The Guardians Of The Galaxy Holiday Special is essentially a short film as well, but this time it feels more like a special one-shot episode. For one, The Guardians Of The Galaxy Holiday Special is shorter in terms of length and duration. It’s only around 40+ minutes long compared to Werewolf By Night’s 50+ minutes.

There’s really nothing much to say or spoil for The Guardians Of The Galaxy Holiday Special. The trailers have already revealed that the plot involves Drax (Dave Bautista) and Mantis (Pom Klementieff) going off to Earth and kidnapping Kevin Bacon to bring him back to Peter Quill AKA Star-Lord (Chris Pratt). That’s literally all that mostly happens, albeit with scenes fleshing out the narrative and several scenes featuring songs and musical numbers, which is a signature of director James Gunn at this point. 40 minutes can only fit so much.

There’s a lot of the same comedy and humour from James Gunn’s Guardians Of The Galaxy films, and a lot of mostly Drax and Mantis. As such, how much you’ll enjoy The Guardians Of The Galaxy Holiday Special depends on how much you like both of these characters. Of course, the rest of the Guardians Of The Galaxy members reprise their roles as well, but they’re only there as cameos or receive barely more than a minute of screen time. Still, MCU fans will have some easter eggs and references to chew on, though perhaps not as many as in the other Disney+ Marvel shows and movies.

Despite its brief runtime, The Guardians Of The Galaxy Holiday Special does contain some heartwarming moments and a sprinkling of that fuzzy holiday spirit, which will give you the “feels”. While fans who expect more meat and more ‘meaningful’ content might be a bit disappointed, this short episode is ultimately just a fun diversion and a little treat for MCU fans to spend time with the Guardians before Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 eventually arrives in May 2023, which is only about seven months away.

FINAL SCORE: 70/100

We received an early screener of The Guardians Of The Galaxy Holiday Special courtesy of Disney+ Hotstar Malaysia. The Guardians Of The Galaxy Holiday Special is slated to premiere on 24 November 2022 on Disney+ Hotstar Malaysia.