I really don't mind that each installment has different tones or meets a different need. After all, like zombie just said, the original trilogy does that, and each of them are quite good in their own ways. So it can be done successfully. Television does that every week. It's really just the "now" attitude that he has. Whatever mindset of the week he has is what everything he's ever done has to be. Sometimes that manifests itself simply in the way he talks about things (i.e. I always meant this scene to be perceived this way...) even though it's obvious he's talking out of his ass. Sometimes it manifests itself in him actually going back to old material and changing it to fit his new viewpoint rather than accept that he's changed and deal with it.