Kenneth Branagh makes an excellent target for people who want to
hate him.  When I spoke to Anthony Hopkins, he talked a bit
about the way Branagh has always been a target, in no small part
because of the way he appeared on the scene with so much hype
behind him.  In the world of theater, and particularly among
Shakesperean experts, Branagh was seen as an upstart, and people
were gunning for him.  When he moved into film, his "Henry V"
was heavily praised, the sort of praise that almost guarantees
people are going to want to go after something.  And throughout
his career, he tends to make big choices like a four-hour-long
"Hamlet" in 70MM, that make him seem like he's positively
dripping with hubris.  But if you can deliver the goods, is it
really hubris?  That word is the main focus of "Thor,"
thematically speaking, and moving from something as small as
"Sleuth" to a giant mainstream Marvel superhero film with action
sequences that are unlike anything he's staged before, seems
like another of those Branagh m