Bloom mauled by US critics, loved by UK ones
Orlando Bloom has been mauled by American critics of his new movie Kingdom of Heaven, who have dubbed him a "surfer boy trying to be serious".
Director Ridley Scott took a gamble handing the Lord of the Rings star his first leading role - but reviews of his role as a blacksmith who becomes a knight sucked into the 12th century crusades, have not been kind.
The Boston Globe slams: "More than anything, this often fascinatingly confused Crusades epic lacks a leading man with the stature to put it over. Audiences know Russell Crowe. Russell Crowe is their friend. Orlando Bloom is no Russell Crowe."
And Eclipse magazine adds: "Bloom comes across as a vapid California surfer boy trying to be a serious 'artist'."
But there is some relief for Bloom - critics in his native Britain have given his performance a thumbs-up. The Times gushes: "He is fabulously uncomplicated, and effortlessly sexy. He's also grown up from juvenile swashbuckler to handsome and earthy lead."
