|
TV REVIEW
'The Guardians Of The Galaxy Holiday Special' is a Funny and Heartwarming Gift To Everybody
By Sal LoCicero | November 27, 2022
It is that time of the year again to celebrate the holidays and the happiness and joy that comes with it, and to finish off Phase Four from the MCU, Marvel Studios and James Gunn released the second Disney+ Marvel special, one that is to bring families and comic book fans together to have a blast within a duration of only 44 minutes.
‘The Guardians Of The Galaxy Holiday Special’ is a celebration of the significance of Christmas. James Gunn is able to craft less than an hour of his unique signature onto the screen and have it work. This is not a prelude to the upcoming “Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3” releasing next year, this is a (streaming) special, and that is it. After Kraglin tells Drax and Mantis the story of how Yondu ruined Christmas for Peter Quill when he was a kid, the two make a plan to search for the best present to give Quill so that he can find the spirit of Christmas that he once had.
That is what the premise is about, but Gunn uses all of his creativity to make this exciting, fun and (surprisingly) heartwarming. The mischief journey that Drax and Mantis go on is hilarious, Bautista and Klementieff's performance enhances their characters' bizarre qualities. Their encounter with the people of Earth is similar to Will Ferrell in ‘Elf’.
As shown in the trailer, actor Kevin Bacon makes a guest appearance as Peter Quill’s Christmas present, which does not work out well. Kevin Bacon is the perfect celebrity guest to get casted in this, due to how tremendous of an influence he has had on Quill and the galaxy. That part is where the heart of the story comes into play. Getting the opportunity to meet your hero all because of those who care about you.
Chris Pratt has always been the big star out of the bunch and based on his actual personality, he shows just how much he truly is the character “Star Lord”. Unfortunately, he does not receive as much screen time as his supporting actors do. It’s overwhelming, because there is so much that can be developed even more with him that hasn’t been depicted before, and since the last time he’s shown his presence was through the Korg’s opening monologue in ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’, it would have been pleasant to see more from him. Chances are that Peter Quill (aka Star Lord) will have tons of more to offer in the third film.
Cinematogapher Henry Braham, who’s worked with Gunn on his previous films ‘Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2’ and ‘The Suicide Squad’, does an excellent job with the show’s look. He uses the same techniques as before, but with a different aspect ratio of 1.78:1, Braham changes the screen formatting to give it a televised look, and it works.
‘The Guardians Of The Galaxy Holiday Special’ is a funny, exciting and sweet gift that all will enjoy.
Grade: A
|
|
