I think there’s a good movie here. I really do. But these trailers aren’t doing the film any favors.

Another trailer has been released for The Road, and again it seems to be marketing a different movie than what The Road really is. I get it — it’s a bleak story with a very sparse plot. Its strengths are in the characters and that isn’t an easy thing to sell. But these trailers seem befuddled by the footage, unsure of whether they want to sell a post-apocalyptic movie, a thriller, or a soaring story of hope. The Road has bits of all of that, but what made those aspects of the story so powerful were how understated and delicately they were treated. Why not make the trailer the same way? Why try to slap us over the head with these empty cries of DESTRUCTION and DANGER and HOLDING OUT FOR HOPE?

Ugh. If there is a good movie here, I feel terrible for it, because these trailers aren’t going to get anyone who didn’t already like the book interested. It’s got a great cast (although they appear to be over-selling Charlize Theron’s involvement still), and great source material. Now if only it had a great trailer… Watch a bad one after the jump, or in HD at Yahoo!

To be fair, the first half actually isn’t terrible. It’s the second half I can’t stand. But is it just me? Or do you guys agree that the marketing campaign for The Road has been sorely lacking thus far?

Tags: Charlize Theron, Guy Pearce, John Hillcoat, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Robert Duvall, The Road, Viggo Mortensen