James Gunn’s first Marvel project in 5 years is The Guardians of The Galaxy Holiday Special.

In The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, the Guardians, who are on a mission to make Christmas unforgettable for Quill, head to Earth in search of the perfect present. The Marvel Studios’ Special Presentation stars Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, and Pom Klementieff, featuring Vin Diesel as Groot and Bradley Cooper as Rocket, Sean Gunn and The Old 97’s with Michael Rooker and Kevin Bacon.

The Good

• Some parts are hilarious. I love that the citizens of Knowhere are utterly perplexed at the concept of Christmas.
• Awesome set design. The use of The Volume is getting better and better with (almost) every release.
• The music is pretty cool. There’s a genuine sense of fun from the production when the movie breaks out into song.
• Groot is growing up! And the little dude is stocky. He looks like Skaar.
• Kidnapping Kevin Bacon is EXACTLY what these guys would assume is the right thing to do for Peter Quill.
• Cool Yondu cameo. The animated scenes are fun.
• The Kevin Bacon song is pretty f’n awesome.

The Bad

• This special has a suspiciously small amount of Peter Quill.
• Drax used to be fun and funny but now he’s just silly.
• Mantis is Peter Quill’s sister? Why?
• No Gamora. At all? Wow.
• Humor. Humor and more humor. What’s interesting is that James Gunn is actually pretty good with action and drama. They’re no a focus of these films.

Overall

When did the Guardians buy Knowhere from The Collector? Why is Chris Pratt so stiff in this movie? Why are the Avengers never around when stuff like this happens?