I flew NZ (NRT-AKL-MEL) for the first time a couple of weeks ago in J in the 777-200, and I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised! Especially given that it has received quite a mixed review in here and in other forums (and I was hesitant because of the unflattering thread about the FAs in the HKG-AKL sector).

Positives:
-Outstanding crew in the NRT-AKL sector. Actually, it was one senior flight attendant who stood out. The service was probably what I liked best.
-Of all the J seats I've flown, this has got to be the most comfortable bed; the mattress and duvet were soft, and it doesn't have the irritating cubby hole in most new airline seats
-Good selection of New Zealand wines
-Easy and hassle-free transit in Auckland

(Maybe) negatives:
-Not really a negative - this is a matter of perspective, but being used to Asian and EU airlines, I found NZ FAs to be quite "familiar". Perhaps it's a cultural thing? SQ/NH/QR would probably have a more elegant but distant type of service. Not everyone may appreciate the chatty, homey NZ FAs (but I did of course, as mentioned above)
-Inconsistent crew. There are ones who work efficiently and are very friendly, but a couple appeared to hate their jobs so much.
-I'm torn about the food - which ranged from excellent to truly bad. The NRT-AKL dinner was good, and the salmon in the AKL-MEL sector was outstanding, but the NRT-AKL Japanese breakfast was inedible and was left untouched
-Mediocre lounge in Auckland
-The AVOD was a pain, really. The remote control was unresponsive, and the system was slow.


There's my objective review of NZ! Although there are some quirks here and there that makes it less perfect than the more popular competitors like SQ/CX etc., it was actually a solid 4-star experience. Would gladly flew with them again.