Jar Jar Abrahms liked Star Wars as a kid but has absolutely no understanding of why Star Wars became a cultural touchstone, what kind of story it was telling, what kind of themes it tried to explore, or really anything else. He just thought it looked cool in an entirely superficial, aesthetic way.

So when he got the chance to make a Star Wars movie he re-made A New Hope beat for beat, but without any depth and without doing anything new. It was a re-make in all but name, but a soulless remake by someone who didn't really understand why the original was cool and appealing.