With a remake, the familiar story can be so prominent that every deviation stands out. That helps comparison but can also narrow attention. A second version need not pursue the same strengths in exactly the same places. Instead of keeping a continuous better-or-worse tally, ask what choices the new treatment makes within a recognisable conflict.
Establish the relationship between the works
A remake, another adaptation of the same literary source and a different cut of one production are not identical things. Individual boundaries may be debated, but titles and release years should be clear. Confusing two cuts of a production can lead you to attribute a change to new filming when it actually results from selection or arrangement.
The same director can also return to an earlier story. The BFI overview of directors remaking their own work shows that the comparison is not necessarily between an original author and unrelated imitators. Chronological order alone consequently reveals little about artistic intention.
Choose a shared moment
Find a scene that performs the same task in both versions, such as a first meeting or a revelation. Compare its opening. Does one version give us information the main character lacks? Does the other postpone our understanding of who controls the situation? These choices can make similar dialogue threatening in one treatment and funny in another.
Next, consider space. A conversation across a broad table separates people differently from a shared walk down a narrow street. Updated technology and furnishings are only part of the change. Positions, glances and the timing of a response can reorganise the conflict even when the wording remains similar.
Explain a preference without reducing everything to a score
Record two decisions that matter to you and one unresolved question. The later film might give a supporting character more involvement while resolving an uncertainty earlier. Both observations can stand together; they need not disappear into a single numerical rating.
An older version you have known for years also benefits from accumulated memories. A new voice or different rhythm may initially feel unfamiliar. This does not make the response wrong, but it should remain visible as part of the comparison. Rewatching a short passage helps distinguish memory from the choices actually present on screen. Your eventual preference may still be decisive, but it will rest on identifiable decisions rather than on which version you happened to encounter first.