i really liked the first, pre-shippuden, part. imho it was very good: a lot of character development, a lot of fighting, it is still one of my favourite things about Naruto. i also love the introduction to the akatsuki era (if i may call it as such). these guys were awesome, not only they introduced new powers to the story and became a major threat and challenge for so many different characters but they helped the story move forward and added a new dimension to practically everything. it was also when Naruto became a little 'darker' given the backstories of all those people, Nagato's ideals which imo are still one of the most interesting themes in Naruto, Itachi, and all of them were just amazing additions to the Narutoverse.
i do not like this war arc very much as it lacks all of the above elements: no character development (so far at least), no interesting stories and apart from Madara's godlike powers can't say that the rest of powers and powerups so far are interesting, some also feel kinda random. maybe it will get better now with Obito's story, though i fear it will end up soapy.