The problem is many filmmakers use romance/relationships/gender/identity as a filler that really doesn’t add to the story. This is compounded when it feels more like pandering to an audience.
As a kid I remember hating TNG when it first came out because it was so different from TOS. I still struggle to watch Discovery (too dark) and JJ Abram’s trek (lens flares) but I am sure I will eventually give them another rewatch.
A few years ago at work there were constant fire drills and false alarms. Eventually we got sick of it and just ignored them. The “floor captains” would go from office to office and make everyone leave but ours was a computer lab with restricted access so they couldn’t get in even if they wanted to.
One day it was well below freezing out and we decided we were going to skip this fire drill. However the floor captains were particularly annoying this time and wouldn’t stop banging on our door so eventually we answered it. Apparently it wasn’t a drill and there was actually a fire in the building, right below our lab. Everything was taken care of quickly but they weren’t too thrilled we ignored them for so long.