There is a big difference between questions that are important for the movie to function and those that are more or less important padding. What happened in IV was sufficiently explained in the movie. VII has film breaking plot holes.
They are judged by the same standards, they are just different where it matters.
I get where you are coming from. I am willing to wait and see if these issues are addressed in future films. Some series' do not have installments that stand well on their own. I don't consider that a bad thing necessarily, but I would have preferred the film be more cohesive like everyone else.