I think it's primarily the unfavourable comparison to the legendary original... This is actually a decent remake, even though the original was better...

Fanboys are sore...

I didn't hate it; I thought it was okay. First time I saw the original I have to say I was expecting more from it, but on rewatches I definitely enjoyed it. One thing that really surprised me about this, if I remember correctly, is that they dispensed with the planet Mars entirely, or maybe I'm just muddling things. Been years since I watched either of them.

Yeah I don’t think it’s hate, more that there’s nothing new or interesting here. It feels like a “what’s the point again” movie

I thought it actual looked good visually and works as an action/sci if movie but I literally forgot what it was about the minute the credits started rolling

@AAflix said:

One thing that really surprised me about this, if I remember correctly, is that they dispensed with the planet Mars entirely, or maybe I'm just muddling things. Been years since I watched either of them.

I remember this being a bit of a selling point when it was first released - almost trying to be a closer adaption of the original short story which didn’t go to Mars (decades since I read it so stand to be corrected). Mars was just for the Arnie version.

Should also add that Kate Beckinsale was the best thing in this. Looked like she was having a whale of a time

I practically hated the idea of it, to be honest. As daft as Paul Verhoeven's film with Schwarzenegger was, at least it has a signature style to it that this film was unable to compete with. I know this has been stated on here a hundred times before, but these Hollywood remakes are a bad idea. I didn't watch this film in its entirety (as I was unable to get through it), but it pretty much felt like just a cash-grab effort.

Over in another thread, I mentioned that the 1990 campy Arnie version sets the bar for us because it's the version of the story most of us first saw; and, even though it is not as true to the original story as this grittier Farrell version, this grittier version is still compared, not to the original story, but to the original film adaptation.

I watched them both this weekend, and now like them on equal footing, for different reasons.

Sure, Arnie had the campy 80s thing down. It was funny, fun, and even though there were series themes, it did not take itself seriously.

Farrell's movie is much grittier, darker more realistic. The future world they created was visually stunning, and they even too inspiration from another Farrell movie, Minority Report (the car chase thing, right?)

I also think Kate Beckinsale's Lori was a much more intense and menacing character, rolling both Sharon Stone's Lori as well as Michael Ironside's Richter into one. And, she also didn't run like a pantywaist like Richter did!

The showdown between Quaid and Harry was also more gut-wrenching than between Quaid and Dr. Edgemar.

Thus, I'd be inclined to confirm that most people didn't like it just because they had the Arnie adaptation entrenched in their minds as the standard. In my opinion, that's unfortunate, as I think this movie stands up on its own.