Making sense wasn't really a priority in the 1st film. The whole things feels like some kind of nightmare fever dream. The bad guys are obviously not playing by realities rules and there isn't much that can be done to stop them. That's one of the things I love about the series.
The first film could be seen as a young boy dealing with the death of his family by way of fantasy. In a way, it made sense.
The second film was mostly a rehash of the first with different characters and a wider playing field. Starting with the second film, I gave up trying to see any theme to hang the events on. Run around, shoot things, silver/gold balls, blood, more shooting, more running, oh look we won, whoops we didn't, credits roll.
It would be nice to see them do something innovative with the fifth movie. I don't have high hopes. But, as I said, I will most likely buy it and watch it when it hits DVD.