It's a game that is meant to expand on and luxuriate in the setting of Midgar, and it seems almost exclusively for fans who love/loved FF7 and really want that level of "expansion" when it comes to the world itself, the setting which kicked off the original series, and the initial conflict which led to what we consider the beats of the story that made up FF7.
It's basically the ultimate example of drawn-out, massive fan service. That's what the series is for. So if this is not you, an original fan, the game isn't for you. Really simple. No need to investigate what works or doesn't work about it, because that's the only reason the game exists.
If this
does sound like you and you
still don't like the game... well you it was never going to appeal to you. If you wanted some version of a clean, super-faithful update of FF7 in terms of narrative pace or gameplay fidelity, it's really obvious that they are doing something very, very different than that with this series. So no matter how much you might have been a fan of the original game at the time... this remake's not for you either.
I loved the original, and I loved the world, and I am happy to wallow in this weird, massive expansion of Midgar that they've created. I'm happy to see them tell this weird story of "fate" within the saga of FF7 lore. And as a logical adult I know there's no way to see a massive modern AAA release which can try to replicate the gameplay of the original FF7... so of course they updated it with their action combat system. And it's frankly by far the best version they've released in any of their games, as far as I'm concerned, while being a plausible update (with Materia, summons, and ATB) of the original FF7 combat system.
So I loved the game. But that's exactly who should love the game.
Anyone talking about pace, or dialogue, or character, or how the combat system doesn't fit FF7, or how long the game took and you just got through Midgar... it's not for you. Very clearly and obviously. Shame you don't like it, your loss as far as I'm concerned, but fair warning that it's now been explained to you, the rest of the series will be done in that vein. Just FYI.