That guy seriously needs to take a moment to understand films and what makes something visually interesting. Real Martial arts aren't visually interesting but in films you have actors doing almost impossible flips, especially in mid-fight and powerless kicks and punchs that would barely hurt anyone in real life.

Aspects such as the strained muscles when holding the bow back for so long aren't what you want to see in the main heroes and villans. The holding of the bow gives the impression of strength, skill and control. If the director wants the character to appear weak then they will have the actor strain under the preasure of the bow. These are visual techniques that are used to portray character.

He uses LotR a lot which is full of warriors. The elves are typically masters of the bow in fantasy and the idea of having such elegant characters having shaking arms because they are holding the bow for too long is stupid.

The noise from pulling back the bow is a typical way of portraying strength from the weapon, despite not being accurate. Ever hear the sound of dramatic gun cocking sounds when ever someone is holding a machine gun and moves slightly? That doesn't happen in real life, it is there for dramatic effect.

The guy may understand bows, but he doesn't understand how you visually tell a story. If LotR sacrificed looks for practicality it would have been the biggest pile of a shit ever.

Edit: This has recieved a lot of reply and I have learned a lot from them. Perhaps it was the way I wrote it but a lot of people are under the impression that when I mentioned the cocking of the gun they instantly assume I mean the irritating sound of 5 people with guns suddenly making clicking noises. I am refering to when someone is preparing to shoot. It is an audio cue for the viewer that he/she is ready to shoot and that he will if it doesn't go his/her way. This is different from the 5 hour gun cocking sounds from soldiers.

I have taken many of your points into consideration and agree with most of them too. My post was mainly focussing on LotR because that was clearly the guys main focus too. The cast sacrificed technique for looks, which I personally believe was the right thing to do. It is a film that was aimed at everyone and not everyone wants to see a film with all the realistic detail that may become distracting. The scene at Helm's Deep where they all draw back their bows and hold them would look a little strange to some people if everyone's arms were shaking. While it makes sense as the preasure from the bow is a lot, it would look odd for an army of elves, who enter like total badasses who make most of what they do look effortless. Granted however they could have made the men who hadn't fought battles and were young or old to struggle with the bows.

Thank you for your replies. As I say, they were useful in helping me understand more about what people find entertaining and what they would prefer to see in films.