I said I wasn’t going to write a plot synopsis for these. When it comes to “The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special,” I have to, because it will seem like gobbledygook to anyone not familiar with the MCU. Drax (Dave Bautista) and Mantis (Pom Klementieff) go to Earth to get Kevin Bacon as a present for Peter Quill (Chris Pratt).
I picked this one even though it’s technically not a movie. At 45 minutes, it’s more of a TV special, but since the last time I did this, I included things like “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” and “A Charlie Brown Christmas Special,” this fits my 12 days just fine.
The reason I picked this is that it is a ton of fun. Drax and Mantis are two characters who don’t get a lot of focus in the Guardians movies. They have such an amazing dynamic that it is great to see them get the spotlight. Both are socially unaware, which leads to some incredible interactions between them. Neither of them sees anything wrong with kidnapping Kevin Bacon; they see it only as the best way to give Quill a good Christmas.
I also loved this because it showed what a badass Mantis can be. She had a sheltered upbringing (to say the least) and is dismissed as helpless most of the time. She really gets to show off her fighting ability as well as her telepathy/empathy powers. As they chase Kevin Bacon, they run into the police. She and Drax fight them off with Mantis using her powers to put them to sleep.
This is not one to watch if you haven’t seen any of the Guardians of the Galaxy movies or have no interest in the MCU. It was made purely for fans and not intended to be anyone’s entry point. One thing I would recommend is listening to the song “I Don’t Know What Christmas Is (But Christmas Time is Here). It boils down to an alien has written a song about Christmas based solely on what they have heard from others.
