There was a time when Orlando Bloom had a novel appeal. After his bit part in Black Hawk Down, which basically amounted to him falling out of the titular helicopter (still his best role), Bloom turned himself into a global heartbreaker with his appearance as Legolas in The Lord Of The Rings. In those films Bloom rather limited repertoire served him well; he was simply one part of a large, sprawling ensemble, and both his elven genetics and the way he was directed meant he didn't act normally. Each film found Bloom being employed as a little more than a beautiful albeit vapid piece of spectacle that ran, jumped and shield surfed into movie history. The role of Legolas complimented Bloom's arid, laconic and most of all emotionless acting, and it was no surprise that his transition away from the stoic elf proved to be fraught with misfortune. Oh sure, he did power through with the mega successful Pirates series - but that was mostly due to riding Johnny Depp's flamboyantly drunken coat-tails. His other efforts were either flops or floppish (Ned Kelly, Kingdom of Heaven), or were packed with so much star power that they didn't really prove Bloom's capabilities as a leading man (Troy). These days Bloom has mostly been resigned to smaller films - which should be a reprieve after so much sword and sandaling, but his perplexing recent return to Middle Earth suggests that the lessons of Bloom's past have not stuck, not enough at least to keep that blonde wig away.