Thor is back, and this time, he’s ready to prove his films can be as entertaining as his colleagues’. The superhero, played by Chris Hemsworth, debuted on the silver screen in 2011 in a pretty forgettable movie compared to those made for the rest of the Marvel Avengers team.

Iron Man’s film kicked off the whole Marvel Cinematic Universe, and Captain America gave us a period superhero piece that found a way to bring a hero from World War II into the modern era. Although the Hulk movie was forgettable too, it was before Mark Ruffalo took over the role of the big green rage monster.

What’s Thor’s excuse? Even his sequel, “Thor: The Dark World,” was dull. It’s no wonder he hasn’t won many popularity contests when put up against his fellow Avengers.

His latest on-screen appearance in the upcoming “Thor: Ragnarok” might change all of that. The 17th installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe will be released Thursday and is being hailed as the funniest to date. If you’d told me before I’d seen the trailers that “Thor” and “funniest” would ever be put into the same sentence, I would’ve laughed at you.

Thor had some potential with his fish-out-of-water routines that demonstrated his lack of awareness of the human world on Earth, but it’s a routine we’ve seen before. I’m excited to see Thor shed that basic routine and bring in a different type and level of comedy with the help of Ruffalo’s returning Hulk.

Both Thor and the Hulk have been absent from the silver screen for a while, since neither appeared in “Captain America: Civil War,” and it’s a good time to reintroduce the characters.

In this film, Thor is kicked out of Asgard, his hometown, by villain Hela, played by Cate Blanchett. He’s then imprisoned in a world with gladiator-style battles, where he’s put up against the Hulk, who seems unable to recognize him. Together, Thor, the Hulk and a few new characters must fight for survival and to prevent Hela from destroying Asgard.

Critics have already praised the film, which opened internationally last week. Joss Whedon, director of “The Avengers” and its sequel, called “Thor: Ragnarok” “a modern masterpiece” in a tweet on Friday. He describes the film as “epic, hilarious, gorgeous, heartfelt and hilarious.”

Here’s the thing: @TaikaWaititi has made a modern masterpiece. Epic, hilarious, gorgeous, heartfelt, and hilarious. I’m SO HAPPY #hilarious pic.twitter.com/ItsTcmeVN4

— Joss Whedon (@joss) October 27, 2017

It must be really funny if he’s calling it “hilarious” twice, especially since Whedon is known for creating a special brand of humor in his films with quick-witted dialogue.

Entertainment Weekly gives the film a B rating, which is pretty good for a superhero blockbuster, since most tend to stay in the C range. But the publisher criticized the movie’s storyline, claiming it’s the same formula used in every other Marvel movie. It praises the Marvel newcomer director Taika Waititi for injecting the humor but calls on writers to improve their story blueprint.

LA Weekly lauded the film’s style, claiming it set it apart from other recent Marvel films. It considers the interesting, over-the-top costuming the film relies on cosplay-like, but a different aspect of the film that doesn’t take itself too seriously.

“Thor: Ragnarok” sounds like it’ll be an entertaining diversion from some of the more serious and scary films we’ve had recently, but if you’re looking for an intense story, I’d suggest finding a theater still playing “Blade Runner 2049.”

I’m looking forward to seeing the film, and maybe it’ll finally turn me into a Thor fan.

Nicki Zelenak is a sophomore television, radio and film major. She can be reached by email at nezelena@syr.edu.

Published on October 30, 2017 at 5:39 pm