Let me start with a little background. I loved the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie. It was vibrant and original. The fact that I love Orlando Bloom didn’t hurt.

I saw the second movie once. I had problems with it for a couple of reasons: first, I didn’t love the direction they took with Elizabeth. Second, I thought it tried to do too much. It was packed with plot lines. Don’t get me wrong–I enjoyed the movie and found it entertaining. But it lost some of the wonder I’d had in the first movie.

I went to the third movie last weekend. I liked it, thought it was much better than the second movie. It was entertaining, I liked Elizabeth’s journey, and Orlando was great. But I don’t know if I’ll see it again.

Why?

Spoilers ahead . . .

. . . so be prepared . . .

Two words: the ending.

For me, part of the pleasure of the first movie was its feel-good ending. That’s not evident in the second or third movies. With At World’s End, I found myself thinking about the ending for days afterward. On one level, that makes it a success. But it disturbed me.

Not every movie or book has a happy ending, and that’s fine with me. But I’d hoped Pirates 3 would provide a feel-good ending just like Pirates 1.

I write romance for many reasons. One of them is because I love feel-good endings. Life is a cycle, full of ups and downs. Writing romance helps me remember those good times, even when work is hard, health issues are pressing, gas prices are going up, etc.

I won’t argue that the ending isn’t original. It is. I can’t help but admire it on that level. But on a gut level, the movie let me down. It didn’t live up to the promise it made–albeit implicitly–in the first movie.

You may disagree, and that’s fine. For me, I needed that movie to have a happy ending, and I got bittersweet instead.

It reminded me why I write romance–I love happy endings.