Capitalizing on my quasi-unemployed status, I was able to catch “The Return of the King” earlier this afternoon. I won’t bother with a full review, since there are so many glowing ones already out there to choose from, except to say I thought it was as excellent as its two predecessors.

When it was all over, I just thought back on when I first heard that some no-name director was going ahead with plans to make “The Lord of the Rings” into a film series. So many things seemed to stand in its way. How could you possibly adapt J.R.R. Tolkien’s world without cutting it to shreds and enraging its legions of hard-core fans? How could you make a live-action film of such a fantasy world? How could you cast live actors as hobbits without having to use midgets? Yet, Peter Jackson did it all in triumphant fashion and deserves ample credit and recognition, not just for his spectacular achievements with the three films, but for having had the courage and vision to know that they could be done, and done properly, in the first place. That kind of audacity is too often missing from a film industry generally averse to risk and content to pander. The success of this trilogy provides a welcome reminder of how great the movies can be when done right.

UPDATE: Jonah Goldberg seems to agree.