Guardians of the Galaxy: Watch the engagingly offbeat first trailer

(Image credit: (Facebook.com/Guardians of the Galaxy))

last updated 8 January 2015

It's clear from the very beginning of the new trailer for Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy that this won't be your average superhero blockbuster. Movies like Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America have thrived on the name recognition afforded to those legendary heroes. But both inside and outside the film's world, the self-styled "Guardians of the Galaxy" still have something to prove; no one recognizes protagonist Peter Quill's assumed name, Star-Lord, and the entire gang is dismissed as "a bunch of a-holes" at the end of the trailer.

Guardians of the Galaxy has more to establish (and more to prove) than the average Marvel flick, and the first trailer for the film goes out of its way to give audiences a glimpse at each of the movie's many new faces — only a few of which are recognizably human. Among the tree-man Groot (Vin Diesel) and the green-skinned Gamora (Zoe Saldana), there's one character who immediately pops: Rocket, a gun-toting space raccoon who's "wanted on over 50 charges of vehicular theft and escape from lockup." The trailer ends on a montage set to a song that is yet another unconventional choice: Blue Swede's "Hooked On a Feeling," which plays over a montage of the movie's sci-fi action sequences.

There's no mistaking it: This engagingly offbeat trailer proves Guardians of the Galaxy will represent a significant departure from the superhero films on which Marvel has built its cinematic empire. Will the upcoming movie match the heights set by the company's mega-grossing blockbusters, or will audiences turn up their noses at this silly sci-fi blockbuster? We'll find out when Guardians of the Galaxy hits theaters in August.

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Scott Meslow is the entertainment editor for TheWeek.com. He has written about film and television at publications including The Atlantic, POLITICO Magazine, and Vulture.

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