An Orlando Bloom Film Is Dominating Netflix Today

Sometimes an actor has a role in a film that, despite being popular, quickly gets forgotten and overshadowed by their other work. Orlando Bloom is the poster child for this phenomenon as he’s been in many popular movies, but his work on Lord Of The Rings and Pirates Of The Caribbean means that his other work is frequently overlooked.

For instance, Bloom was in Black Hawk Down, a film that remains massively popular. But it isn’t a film people will name when asked to say an Orlando Bloom movie. However, right now, Black Hawk Down is shooting up the streaming charts. According to Flix Patrol, the film is currently in Netflix’s top 50 films, rising 38 points in a single day. 

First released in 2001, Black Hawk Down is a war film directed by Ridley Scott and co-produced by Scott and Jerry Bruckheimer. The film was based on journalist Mark Bowden’s book, Black Hawk Down. This non-fiction book explored the U.S. military’s 1993 raid in Mogadishu. The film follows Task Force Ranger, a group of soldiers sent to Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, to arrest Mohamed Farrah Aidid. Aidid has installed himself as Somalian president after a brutal civil war that has seen Aidid’s forces attack UN peacekeepers and seize Red Cross food parcels. Of course, this operation doesn’t go smoothly, and soon many of the soldiers find themselves in a desperate situation.

When the film hit cinemas, it got a lot of attention due to its large ensemble cast that featured plenty of A-list stars. This included Ewan McGregor, Josh Hartnett, and Ioan Gruffudd. However, it was also the breakout role for several newer actors, including Orlando Bloom, whose only film role before this was a small part in 1997’s Wilde. Before this, he had several TV roles, but he was never the lead. This was also Tom Hardy’s first film role, meaning that Black Hawk Down holds a place in cinema history. 

However, the film did attract a lot of controversies when it came out. It was criticized for its one-dimensional view of America’s role in events, and many reviewers accused the film of being pure jingoism. It was also criticized for altering several details of the events, with some parts being entirely made up. Many reviewers did point these things out, but it didn’t harm the movie’s scores. Black Hawk Down has a 76% critic score and a 88% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, and it made $172,989,651 worldwide at the box office. 

It is fascinating to see what roles an actor is remembered for. However, it is easy to see why many people overlook Orlando Bloom’s role in this movie. While he does a fine job, the semi-realistic military story isn’t the best vehicle for his on-screen charisma. Thankfully, a few years later, Lord Of The Rings would perfectly harness this talent. And in the process, catapult Bloom to stardom.