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Regarding the Cast; Liv Specifically
Mithrigil

I have been known, by many in the Tolkien community, to constantly bash Liv Tyler. Call it jealousy, call it what you will; Liv Tyler is not suitable for the role of Arwen any more than she is for the role of Gollum. ESPECIALLY since the powers that be have decided to unmake her original character in lieu of political correctness.

Liv Tyler is an ingenue. For those of you who are not thespianic, an ingenue is a young female actress who is typically meant to be cast in romantic, low-maintenance, Juliet-style characters. Mainly the ones who are fought over. The new Arwen, what with the I-will-fight-at-my-man's-side 'tude, should have been cast as such.

Oh, sure, "she's an actress," you'll say, but even the greatest actor or actress has a limited range in which she can be suitable. It would be like casting a senior citizen as Shirley Temple, or worse, a child star as Gandalf! Liv, meanwhile, is stuck in the Female-Romantic-Lead state, not the Lucy Lawless tucchus-whup state- *yet*. Give her 8 years, and maybe then, if she still want's to, she can tackle a role like that. Or, if she were back in her teens, she could do a like role- if she had not only the guts, but the right look. If you want to play warrior princess, you either have to look it or act it. Liv does neither.

Of course, if you want to go all P.C. on me too, you can say, "I think she *might* be able to do it". Yeah. She's young and female, all right. But that's just the problem. If they had kept the bow out of Arwen's hands, they could legitimately say that Liv was well cast. But they didn't.