I think the movie was plotwise absolutely a bucket of clichés, but I quite liked the earnestness, and I think it's far more interested in visual design than in plot- and the visual design had all the intricacy and character that the plotting lacked. It's certainly a film where I can see how it doesn't work for everyone, but it's one that I warm to more and more the more I rewatch it.
Obviously, though, if the basic appeal of the movie- watching silly kaiju mecha fights executed really beautifully- does nothing for you, the holes are going to be pretty much all you see.