Why look at them as remakes, they are a retelling of the story, if you always refer back to the original what is the point of watching the new ones, apart from going the original was better..in Total Recall's case in my opinion it isn't.
I don't always think the original is better by default when watching a remake, I just gave my opinion that the Robocop and Total Recall remakes lacked the satirical wit of Paul Verhoeven, which is true. He brought a darkly comical edge to those movies (and Starship Troopers) and this can often be seen in the way he integrates those spoof commercials (Nuke 'Em / For the memory of a lifetime, Recall...Recall...Recall / Would you like to know more? etc) which made the films so memorable.
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I don't always think the original is better by default when watching a remake, I just gave my opinion that the Robocop and Total Recall remakes lacked the satirical wit of Paul Verhoeven, which is true. He brought a darkly comical edge to those movies (and Starship Troopers) and this can often be seen in the way he integrates those spoof commercials (Nuke 'Em / For the memory of a lifetime, Recall...Recall...Recall / Would you like to know more? etc) which made the films so memorable.