Although remakes are reviled and dismissed by some as being nothing more than a cash-in for studios, some really have attempted to make something unique and different. The intentions are often good - to reimagine and renew a dormant story, give it the full treatment or even reinvigorate it for a new generation. Just take a look at the Godzilla trailer and you'll see that, when done correctly, remakes can be even better than the original. Here's five of the best remakes in recent years...

5. INSOMNIA (2002 / English-language remake)
Christopher Nolan's more known to audiences for another remake - namely the Dark Knight trilogy. However, his first studio film, Memento, is one of the most inventive crime thrillers of the past thirty years. Insomnia, it seems, is overlooked as it falls between Memento and Batman Begins. Based on a Swedish film of the same name, Insomnia pits a veteran detective played by Al Pacino against Robin Williams, who is a struggling author who has murdered a teenage fan of his. You can see Nolan's talent for allowing a scene to develop naturally, his brilliant use of colour to dictate mood and a sharp ear for dialogue, too. Definitely worth a watch.

4. THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO (2012 / English-language remake)
What is with those Swedes and making dark crime thrillers with genuinely unsettling plot resolutions? It must be all the snow. David Fincher's take on the smash-hit novel is more of his version of events rather than a remake of the TV-miniseries that launched Noomi Rapace's Hollywood career. If anyone was going to make a big budget version of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, it was going to be Fincher. This is the man who directed Seven, The Game and Panic Room - elements of each that blend together here to make an uncompromising thriller that is criminally underrated. Daniel Craig is Mikael Blomkvist, a journalist eager to reinvigorate his career after a lawsuit has left him almost bankrupt and without credibility. Hired by an enigmatic billionaire industrialist, he's paired with a bisexual hacker with a history of setting people on fire. Rooney Mara's portrayal of Lisbeth Salander was one of 2012's highlights and her dedication to the role - she took up smoking, shaved her hair and studded her face - is apparent from the outset. 

3. LET ME IN (2010 / English-language remake)
There's always a certain amount of snobbery that goes against English-language remakes of films and it has led to some films suffering at the box office, despite favourable reviews from critics. Let Me In is the perfect example of this. The original film, titled Let The Right One In, was based on a bestselling novel by John Lindqvist. Directed by Matt 'Cloverfield' Reeves, the English-language remake starred Chloe Grace Moretz in her first leading role, Richard Jenkins, Elias Koteas and Kodi Smith-McPhee. All of whom are fantastic actors and all of whom are relatively unknown to wider audiences. You couple this with a misjudged marketing campaign - it pitched it as a Twilight-esque romance, then later as an out-and-out horror - and it's little surprise that it didn't do well. It's a crying shame as Let Me In is a beautifully done film that deserves to be seen. Does it surpass the original? Maybe not, but it's definitely more focused and honed than the original.

 2. OCEAN'S ELEVEN (2001 / Remake of 1960 film)
The word 'remake' can just about stretch to include Ocean's Eleven. There are very few things that Steven Soderbergh's film shares with the Rat Pack film - namely the setting, the plot - rob a casino and the title character. In the original, Frank Sinatra was the con-artist / burglar whereas here it's George Clooney in a career-defining role. Clooney's playing to every strength he has - he's slick, effortlessly charming, can do the cheesiest of lines in the most convincing manner and he's very good-looking. Combine that with an equally slick, attractive story, a cast of then up-and-comers (Matt Damon, Casey Affleck) and Soderbergh's deft editing work and you've got one of the best caper films of the last twenty years. 

 1. THE DEPARTED (2006 / English-language remake)
The original film, Infernal Affairs, could have easily been directed by the remake's director, Martin Scorsese. It has quick editing, whip-smart dialogue and questionable protagonists. In his remake, the setting is changed from Hong Kong to Boston and from Triads to Irish mobsters. Jack Nicholson is Frank Costello, a kingpin who sends his protege, Matt Damon, to infiltrate the Boston police department. In a somewhat incredulous fashion, the police have the exact same idea - discharge one of their brightest recruits from the force under false allegations and send him after Nicholson's character. Scorsese's stamp, as mentioned, is all over The Departed. The fantastic soundtrack, the dizzying camerawork and the endlessly quotable lines makes The Departed one of the best remakes ever made. Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe go fack yahself.