Did you just compare Jason Statham to Steve McQueen? Mods that has got to be a ban. He could pass for a lesser character like Danny or the Australian bloke played by James Coburn. But The Cooler King would need someone on a totally different level of cool to Statham.
Mixed bag with remakes. There is definitely a handful of half decent ones like 2005's War of the Worlds, The Departed (although technically a remake of a foreign flick), True Grit, Dawn of the Dead to name but a few.
For me I would like to see the 1969 Battle of Britain remade with an ensemble...