I'm sure it could be a hit but what the hell's the point?  Hollywood may as well just keep remaking the same movies every 25 years to get the next generation of consumers into the cinemas without having to think up anything new.

I'm sure the movie will probably be okay but the lack of any new ideas drives me crazy.

This is like asking if sticking a dog turd in your eye is a good idea...There can be only one answer.  
And it does not begin with 'y'.

scottmck wrote: Another annoying thing about this is that if the original Escape From New York were pitched to a studio today, it probably wouldn't get made.

That's because all the studio's budget would be tied up in remakes,sequels,comic adaptations,un-original horror and romance stories. The cost of movies these days scare Hollywood fronm taking any chances. Exceptions are few and far between

While I've no doubt that Gerard Butler will be good in the role of 'Snake', and that this will be a bigger budgeted 'eye-candy' remake...what I really wanted was a big-budget 'Escape from Earth' with an older Kurt ( 'Deathproof' ) Russell, as was once mooted...oh well, early indictations are that the remake's storyline honours the original closely, but with a lot of additional exciting stuff, so I'm sure it will be worth a watch, as I really like the character...