For me it seems like a bit of an education to recently watch both The Amazing Spider-Man and Total Recall. Since both these movies are remakes, I find myself asking what do they bring to the experience that did not already exist the original films? The answer is not a whole lot. Both films represent a different vision and different back story that is darker and gloomier. Both movies lack some of the charm of the originals. The characters aren't as interesting to me but the action is more intense and there is more eye candy to look at.
If you hadn't seen either of the original movies then both films stand on their own pretty much fine. The problem is when you compare them with the original films then you wonder why did they bother doing a remake? (The answer is DVD sales.)
You could take all my comments and also apply them to the 2001 version of "The Planet of the Apes." This particular remake was O.K. but now has been mostly forgotten. On the other hand, the 2011 Rise of the Planet of the Apes was a triumph of film making because it wasn't so much a remake as it was a prequel that gave us a new and original story.
I saw The Amazing Spider-Man without watched the original movie again. The first thing I noticed in this movie is that they incorporated the modern technologies plus new characters. Of course, the story is very much the same. The Amazing Spider-Man brought a new insight of drama and that created a new kind of excitement for the audience to experience.
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