Satire is a big part of what Verhoeven does, however, when a new team comes along to remake the story, they see that absurdity as a problem and remove it in order to make the film more serious.
The director feels that the comedy aspect is important as it gives the audience a necessary distance between them and the material.
The other movie that Paul Verhoeven is referring to in his comments to Collider is Total Recall another film that was remade, and played completely straight, that failed to resonate with audiences at all.