They weren't selling this film on the special effects, but a return to the spirit and charm of the original, as well as some deconstruction on business mentality (dropping what worked for the next fad, creating better/cooler, etc). While the film is by no means perfect, majority opinion seems to be they've largely succeeded after two previous disappointing sequels
And we do have an emotional set-up, with the boys, Claire, and Owen before/during everything going to hell. Even simply putting yourself in their shoes makes you sympathetic (or should imo). Rexie's emotional set-up is heightened for anyone who's seen the original, but still 'generally' automatic 'awesome' because they're getting THE T-Rex to fight the hybrid.
Whether or not it works is still up to opinion, obviously. But for the majority (old and new), it was seemingly enough to be interesting
People really need to learn to write reviews using singular pronouns. Don't use "we" or "us", you're not speaking on behalf of anyone but yourself.
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Awesome, but where was Part 1?
And no, I'm not talking about Jurassic Park. I remember it well; it was the first time I ever saw my dad excited about a film. (I was 10.) I'm talking about Jurassic World, Part 1.
We open this sequel In Media Res. There are eggs hatching with dinosaurs in them. Then there are two kids being put on a plane by their parents. Then there is a Woman in White who, for whatever reason, has to remind herself that her name is Claire, which immediately made me wonder if she was going to be a double agent. There's an Indian CEO and a control room where CO Fischer works. And then finally Chris Pratt appears, at which point my girlfriend and I were already starting to doze off.
The thing about all these characters is that we have no context for them; we have no reason to care about them. And we're never given one. Gray runs; Zack snides; Claire ice queens; the CEO is arrogant; Zara has an English accent. It isn't until Claire and Owen meet that there's anything resembling actual emotion. I can only conclude that all this Backstory was in the prequel, which I somehow never heard about.
The original Jurassic Park had emotional set-up. We spent enough time with Alan Grant and Ellie Sattler, with Tim and Lex Murphy, with Malcolm and Hammond, that we cared about what happened to them. This film misses that goal entirely, probably to make room for more dinosaurs. The problem is, the dinosaurs aren't all that awesome anymore either. In 1993, Jurassic Park's special effects were mind-blowing. Today, in our era of CGI, they're par for the course, and you can't sell a film solely on them. (At least, I think you can't. The film's box office begs to differ.)
Finally, given that this film was a direct sequel to Jurassic Park, I wish there had been more attention paid to that fact. There are a few throwaway references (most notably the Visitor Center stuff), but not enough to make the triumphant return of OG T-Rex into the moment it deserves. In fact, until Claire runs over there, there's nothing to say that OG T-Rex is even alive.
Jurassic Park showed us relatable characters and jaw-dropping special effects. This film has neither. It's fun, but not very interesting.