If women ran the world, they apparently would all wear flour sacks

Don't let the ads fool for "The Wicker Man" fool you (that is, if you've seen them. The film seems to have a marketing budget of $10,) this is no horror movie in the tradition of "The Grudge" or other Asian ghost story remakes. That's not to say it isn't derivative; it's a remake of a campy British thriller from the early seventies whose followers take it very seriously.

It's seemed ripe for a remake to me because the central plot was great but the swirling psychedelia, virginal hero and British folk rock that accompanied the original scream "this was made in 1973!!!"

The central plot remains, so if you've seen the original don't expect any surprises. If you haven't seen it, don't let a big mouth tell you the plot. Go in knowing nothing.

That's if you go; should you go? You know the whole shebang only works at all because Nicolas Cage has perfect timing in some roles. He even makes some traditional "oops that scary thing didn't actually happen...Edward (Nic's character) was just dreaming" scenes work. How an actor can still pull off that hoary bit, I know not. Kudos to Nic!

But Neil LaBute's update doesn't hold together. Nicolas Cage plays a cop who visits an isolated island that is run as a matriarchy headed by Ellen Burstyn. You never really get a sense of why the ladies choose to live in their world. It looks pretty boring. In the original, run by a naughty Christopher Lee, you got a sense of the hedonism that the islanders get to enjoy by staying outside the modern world. Ellen Burstyn's world just seems to give the women freedom to wear a lot of outfits from Chico's and do some weeding. It doesn't look like Utopia to me. And without that sense of what the islanders are fighting for, the film doesn't work. It's not scary enough to entice the fans of J-horror. It's not smart enough for someone looking for a good thriller.

So in the end, I guess I am still waiting for that killer remake of "The Wicker Man."

It's interesting that you point out the differences because as soon as the film was announced, the die-hard cult-like fans of the original were all over the place freaking out about it.
I honestly recommend that you get the Special Edition DVD in the Wicker Box package.
However, you can get the entire plot (even the ending) from watching the trailer with a DVR. Just slow it down to catch some of the quick flashes and you know everything.