I’m also not sure why so many people feel the need to start threads to rant about films/shows that have:
A. Been out forever.
B. Certainly have threads that already exist discussing them.
So, as I stated. Awesome, a rant thread. How original.
But, to entertain this discussion, I’d venture a guess that “whoever owns the rights” allowed these to continue past two films because:
A. They made a combined $1.2b in box office sales against like $300m budgets.
B. The first was both critically acclaimed AND well received by audiences.
The third made $1.2 billion on its own against a $200 million budget, and again was critically acclaimed and well received by audiences.
So it would seem your complaints place you in the minority, which means they continue making them because MOST people enjoy them, and they don’t care about the “This isn’t my Bond” fits that get thrown by a minority of viewers.
Again this is the "Entertainment and Movie Talk" forum, so I don't know why you are continually baffled that we are talking about movies whether they are old or new. People keep making the mistake of equating earnings with quality. The Star Wars sequels have shown that making a lot of money doesn't equal a great product. Like Star Wars, people will go see a movie that has "James Bond" in the title. Critics also don't mean squat. There are really great movies that the critics hate and the audiences love.