I for one liked some of the character changes and hated others; Asuka going from the steadily more stable 14 year-old to a beleaguered 28-year-old (who lost her two comrades just as she was getting along with them if you think about it) is very interesting, but my favorite is Misato: yes, she does look and act like Gendo, but Gendo himself acts more like Lorenz Keel which I think is fascinating. Were the members of SEELE always disembodied in this continuity, or did they lose their bodies during the near 3rd impact? Either way, Gendo adopting Keel's role was something I dreaded (in a good way) in the original series.
The movie also isn't as superficial or random as you may think. People are complaining about Mari's cameo-like role, but many things still point to her importance: she calls Gendo "Gendo-kun," for one, and she's apparently in the picture of baby Shinji with him and Yui, which is possible now that we know about the "curse" of Evangelion. There's obviously a lot more to her than meets the eye.
Even the scenes of exposition are good. Fuyutsuki finally spilling the beans to Shinji is very well-done; the only problem with this is that you need the original series to fully realize the weight of his confession. Misato is cold, but still displays small flashes of humanity (she was unable to press the button and kill Shinji) just like Gendo did in the original series.
Methinks 4.0 will feature a dual storyline; one taking place in the "past" and the other in the present. The reason I think this is because they kill the 12th Angel in this film (and by Asuka's lines it seems as if it had been fought before) with no mention of an 11th. I for one am looking forward to the final movie. Keep in mind that 3.0 was meant to be the first half of a double-feature, so that's probably why it is more vague than is predecessors. Or Anno could be trolling again; either way, I'm game :D
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