Give this film credit for the things it did right
Okay the microchip-robot screenplay rewrite in inarguable *beep* had this been an original film and not a remake, people would be more forgiving, but this films does somethings right.
1.) Style and art direction, this film actually tries to present itself aesthetically in such a way that would suggest that it actually cared about looking well produced. You may say that the gaudy style of the film to show the excess of the super-rich is not more important than the story, but film is a visual medium, and the original film from the 70's looks as though it does not care about having any respectable production value. The original film looks like a piece of crap made-for-TV after school special, and it's score with the silly electronic noises is LAUGHABLE, entirely killing any suspense.
2.) Balance of gender dynamics. The men of Stepford are shallow and awful for disposing of their wives like this, in both version, however the 2004 remake at least tries to have a more well rounded depiction of men in Walter. The original Walter is thinly drawn and like the rest of the men of Stepford cares not for his wife, easily letting her be killed. However, this Walter shows that some men care about connection and genuine love for someone as a person, not as a sex slave. All the men in the original are portrayed as stereotypes, disgusting horny pigs who just want subservient play bunny slaves. Can you imagine what it would be like if the roles were reversed, if all the men were killed by their wives and replaced by malebots? PEOPLE everywhere would cry "MISOGYNY", because it's fine to subjugate men, but it's wrong to do so to women. It's like Ira Levin was some angry sexist misandrist who just decided to go on a pathetic, juvenile revenge fantasy against all the shallow men he encountered. Because all men are stupid, disgusting, frat boy pigs, and making all of them out to be like that empowers women.
3.) Performance, some real good performances can be seen here, especially from Glenn Close. Claire's monologue at the end about the stresses of the professional power-working women (which I think is very true), how she killed her husband and research assistant and how she's just as shallow as the men of Stepford for wanting to make an idealized sycophant instead of a real human person makes it a stronger case for gender equality then the original's "all men are disgusting perverted pigs"