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Meet Gamora And Drax In Latest Guardians Of The Galaxy TV Spot

Under normal circumstances, I’m a firm believer in the notion that less is more when it comes to promotional campaigns for movies. Many a time, I have been initially excited about a film’s release, only to realize that I’ve basically seen the entire thing already in clips and trailers, and got massively bored with it. Surprisingly, Guardians Of The Galaxy is shaping up to be the exception to that rule. Despite the fact that today’s TV spot is the seventh to be released - not including full-length trailers, teaser trailers, promotional images, character posters and full posters – this promotional campaign continues to whet my appetite, as opposed to smothering it until it’s dead.

Guardians of the Galaxy

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Under normal circumstances, I’m a firm believer in the notion that less is more when it comes to promotional campaigns for movies. Many a time, I have been initially excited about a film’s release, only to realize that I’ve basically seen the entire thing already in clips and trailers, and got massively bored with it. Surprisingly, Guardians Of The Galaxy is shaping up to be the exception to that rule. Despite the fact that today’s TV spot is the seventh to be released – not including full-length trailers, teaser trailers, promotional images, character posters and full posters – this promotional campaign continues to whet my appetite, as opposed to smothering it until it’s dead.

Directed by James Gunn (Super), Guardians Of The Galaxy sees US pilot Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) steal a mysterious and dangerous orb, and become the object of a manhunt. He finds himself reluctantly needing to team up with a band of shady characters in order to evade the villain and save the universe.

This new TV spot focuses on the characters of Gamora (Zoe Saldana) and Drax (Dave Bautista). We learn – through John C Reilly’s voiceover – that Gamora is the last surviving member of her species, who witnessed the destruction of her home and was taken hostage. We also learn that Drax is a legendary warrior who lost his entire family. It all sounds terribly dramatic – and it is – except that it is juxtaposed with Norman Greenbaum’s Spirit In The Sky, and a delicious deadpan humour with which these TV spots are designed to hook us in.

It works incredibly well. As an audience member, I am still looking forward to spending time with and getting to know these characters better when the film gets its general release on August 1st, 2014. Dave Bautista (WWE Smackdown, Riddick) – least well-known of the main performers – reveals himself to have great screen presence and charisma as Drax, delivering in both the comedy and action stakes. Zoe Saldana (Avatar), on the other hand, is clearly about to deliver an awesome female superhero, who can hold her own in any given situation. She appears to be very much a force to be reckoned with.

The important thing here though is the tone. Trailers and short previews of films are (supposedly, at least) carefully edited together to give a manipulated and manufactured overview of what the audience can expect from a movie. While poorly made previews mislead viewers, I truly hope that with this campaign, they got them right. The tone presented is consistently entertaining and accessible, with the trademark Marvel swagger and, above all, a delectable funkiness.

Any initial sniggers caused by the idea of a talking raccoon weapons expert, have surely been dispelled by footage of Bradley Cooper’s awesome zingers, just as any negativity about Zoe Saldana going from blue (in Avatar) to green (here) should be put to rest by the way she is presented in this TV spot. For example, (though necessarily heavily edited together) Quill’s assertion that, as a “good-looking girl” Gamora should “try to be more nice to people”, is swiftly met with a resounding kick in the nuts.

Now we’re talking.

Check out the latest tease for Guardians of the Galaxy below and let us know what you think.