I think the biggest obstacle facing the sequels in terms of storytelling was always gonna be the newest explanation for why there are suddenly dinosaurs chasing and eating people. TLW at least had the excuse with "well this is kind of what happens in the second book" that works up to a point. The next few movies, eh not so much even if I still like them more than most.
The JW movies did at least introduce the concept of a black market for revived dinosaurs and that should had been the key focus in 'Dominion' and not the stupid literal plague of locusts. I wasn't even against the idea of militarized dinosaurs but even that really didn't go anyway by the end.
That article sums up why many sequels don't work or are inferior, not just the ones for Jurassic Park. A very good original with an idea that is difficult to expand upon. The sequels that tend to work or are superior are those that do something different, or those that are sequels to an original that wasn't very good in the first place, only with JP it's difficult to go anywhere else as a premise than dinosaurs escaping and running amok among humans. None of them were ever going to beat out the original because it did it first and did it so well.
I still remember the first time I saw Jurassic Park when it came out and nothing has come close to the wow factor I got from experiencing it in the cinema, except maybe Lord of the Rings.
I agree with that last sentiment. We’ve had some pretty good blockbusters since the release of the first JP. But yeah, the wow factor in terms of the sheer spectacle on top of there being excellent storytelling and memorable characters is almost totally dead.