Should a review of a remake reference the original? And why is a comic website reviewing a movie?

Ok, the recently hacked Newsarama has not been solely a comic book site for some time now but the first question still stands. A remake or an adaptation is a work of art separate from whatever the inspiration for it may have been and deserves to be reviewed as such as well as being viewed as such by the audience. Of course this may be impossible or even what the adaptor wants. Obviously one of the reasons for revisiting material is to evoke some of what the original did and present it to a new audience or dazzle the first audience.

That is the prerogative of the creators involved and should not be the basis for the entire review of a film, which is exactly what Michael Avila did with his review of Clash of the Titans. The review/comparison does offer some insights into the creative process of director Louis Leterrier and the process of deciding to do the movie but this is too much for the review and bogs it down. Mr. Leterrier’s comments do not really offer much and definitely do not add to the review’s purpose.

A combination of review and interview does not save this from being a lackluster attempt to praise the movie and offers me little that is not handled better in other pieces on the movie and the director.