Forty-five minutes early. Forty-five minutes, and we still were not the first ones in our seats. As the previews played for an agonizingly long time, I chose to instead watch the steady stream of people enter the theater with giddy anticipation. By the time the movie came on, only two empty seats remained in the theater. None in the audience were without a broad smile when “Mr. Blue Sky” by ELO echoed throughout the room, and a baby tree danced among guns, lasers, and some pretty dope swords.

The adventure starts with the mixtape, “Awesome Mix Vol. 2” which is, perhaps, one of the top two soundtracks of all time. The other of course, is “Awesome Mix Vol. 1.” Featuring 14 different and unique artists, the new Guardians movie includes selections ranging from “Come a Little Bit Closer” by Jay and the Americans, to “The Chain” by Fleetwood Mac, to “Wham Bang Shang-A-Lang” by Silver, to the extremely emotional “Father and Son” by Yusuf/Cat Stevens. The music choice of this film is extremely unique and caters to the tastes of a broad range of audiences, while showing the franchise puts heart and fun over intense action. However, the adventure does not suffer because of this decision.

The opening scene alone is a flawless balance of action with the witty humor the first movie was known for. The filmmakers managed to create a sequel equally as amazing, or better (I know, that never happens), than the original. Throughout the film, the audience finds themselves on the edge of their seats, roaring with laughter, fighting back tears (maybe it was just me), and ending with a warm, purely good feeling about what they just watched. This would not have been possible if any aspect of the film had been different. Especially the actors.

Chris Pratt brought life to the screen, ensuring Peter Quill was relatable, because while he was a superhero, he was also human. Zoe Saldana advocated for the power and capability of a female, while also bringing her own flare to the film. Dave Bautista came back as Drax and the viewers thank him for it. His humor shines through the stiff-necked character in unimaginable ways.

The highly anticipated reunion of Rocket and Baby Groot was so loved by the audience because of the personalities behind them. Bradley Cooper brought his wit back to the big screen as a “trash panda,” and none other than Vin Diesel could have put so much humor and emotion into the three words, “I am Groot.” In addition to the main five, other famous names such as Michael Rooker, Kurt Russell, Sean Gunn, and Sylvester Stallone also made stunning appearances and left their marks on the film.

The perfect mix of talent, comedy, action and emotion came together to create a must-see film. No one could regret seeing a movie with the caliber of awesomeness being this high. While I could continue gushing about this movie for days on end, I will now leave “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” to speak for itself.