I personally see it as more of a strength. I think that in the limited time that you have to tell a story that it's not always necessary to overly delve into world-building expositions. I think that it's fine to allow audiences to fill in the gaps. This is what the Original Trilogy did, and I think that it worked in its favour because it gave those films more time to cut to the chase and focus on the characters; to tell the story about what's happening right now rather than what's happened before.

In the OT we know virtually nothing about the Clone Wars, other than the fact that Obi-Wan and Anakin fought together in it. That's it. But as far as experiencing the story of the OT is concerned, that's really all you need to know. Knowing that Boba Fett is a clone and a product of the Clone Wars really isn't essential to one's experience of the OT. We know nothing of Anakin's origins; just that he was Obi-Wan's student who turned to evil and that he's the father of Luke and Leia. But again, that's all you really need to know. Don't get me wrong, I do like world building, and the knowledge garnered from the Prequels helps to embellish the Original Trilogy, but that's basically what they are -- an embellishment. But not an absolute necessity, as far as the core story of the OT is concerned.

If I may make a comparison with Transformers; look at Beast Wars. Although Beast Wars is set in the same continuity family as G1, it stands alone enough that you don't absolutely need to know G1 canon to watch and appreciate Beast Wars. Yes, G1 canonical knowledge does certainly enhance one's enjoyment of Beast Wars, but BW is perfectly enjoyable to an audience who knows nothing about G1. This is because while BW often referenced G1, it didn't stop to weigh itself down by delving deeply into G1 itself. This is what the Original Star Wars Trilogy did -- it referenced the Prequels, but didn't delve into it. The Prequels very much delved into itself, which was fine in many parts, but it became cumbersome in others. As mentioned before, the Pod Race is a prime example of this.

So I think that TFA also does well in simply making quick references to the events that have occurred between RotJ and TFA without bogging itself down by pausing for exposition. The movie provides almost all of the basic information that we need to know, such as:
* Luke did indeed create a new Jedi Order, as instructed by Yoda.
* Ben Solo/Kylo Ren was one of his students who was seduced by the Dark Side and helped to destroy the Jedi.
* Kylo Ren was a member of some order (as seen in Rey's image)
* Ben's fall caused his family to fall apart, as well as forcing his Uncle Luke into exile.
* The Imperial Remnant^First Order has risen from the ashes of the Empire. They are apparently under the rule of a Sith with an adorably cute and cuddly name. Awww... Snokey!

The only real loose end from the film is Rey. But it's obviously deliberate because they're building for the upcoming sequels.

Would it be cool if official canon helped to fill in the gaps? Absolutely. But the Force Awakens movie itself doesn't necessarily have to do this. Isn't Disney going to make some spin-off movies? Cos if so, those films could easily fill in these gaps.