 With Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 about to storm theaters, there are three films that are essential pre-Guardians viewing. Richard Linklater's 1993 film Dazed and Confused is a great way to get in the mood for Guardians. While both Dazed and the Guardians films boast a nostalgia-fueled soundtrack populated with hits, it's how the music is woven into the DNA of each film that makes them uniquely similar. But when a soundtrack is as intrinsic to the story and tone as it is here, it feels almost like a character in its own right. For both Guardians 1 and 2, James Gunn actually wrote the songs into the scripts, which is obvious in scenes like this. The Dazed and Confused soundtrack was famous for its cost, too, a whopping one-sixth of the total budget. That's how vital Linklater felt the tunes were to the overall experience of the film. We think it paid off, and that this is the perfect film to watch before heading into the multiplex. Just maybe hold off on hitting up that belt-buckled bong before you get behind the wheel. The reason James Gunn was hired to direct Guardians of the Galaxy was this movie, Super. Super is not James Gunn's best film, but what Super did with its wacky characters, offbeat jokes, and commitment to tone was cement James Gunn as a genre-bending, weirdo-loving, risk-taking, humanity-finding storyteller, showing us that Gunn was a smiling but uncompromising auteur. Without Spaceballs, there would be no Guardians. At least, there wouldn't be Guardians like the ones we know today. When the Star Wars parody came out in 1987, it vended genres. Part screwball comedy, part outer space adventure, part spoof, Mel Brooks' cult classic Upped the Bar on the Silly in Space subgenre. Spaceballs' Bill Pullman is Lone Star, a renegade orphaned space pirate with rugged good looks and sharp comedic timing. In Guardians, Chris Pratt plays Star-Lord, a renegade orphaned space pirate. You get the idea. But the most profound philosophical similarity here is humor. Not just its brand or type, but its use. In Spaceballs, fierce enemies are overthrown not with smarts or skills, but with jokes, gags. These although not a spoof, employees a similar tactic, purposefully derailing a tense scene with one well-placed joke. Of course, those aren't the only titles that go well with the little Guardians. What are some movies you think complement Guardians of the Galaxy 2 viewing experience? Let us know in the comments below and keep coming back to Hipfix on Uproxx.