1. Despite reviewers’ comments about maturity and complexity, the film still dumbs down the comic to Hollywood levels. Much may be made about Peter’s moral choice but he chooses “correctly” (others over self, action over complacency) and is rewarded with a happy ending so ridiculous that I thought it was a dream sequence. The comics aren’t Bergmanesque but Peter’s life never gets that simple.
2. Having a street musician sing the cartoon them song was a mistake.
3. Speaking of moral opacity, obviously an ambiguous “villain” isn’t acceptable summer movie fare so Octavius gets something of a reprieve with arms that apparently cloud, if not outright take over, his mind. Guess it never occurs to a physicist that if there’s one thing you want to never ever happen then the safest course is build a removable, easily damaged failsafe chip and put it in an open, accessible spot. And of course additional safeguards are just a fool’s game. In any event, Marvel comics are filled with characters who’ve swapped sides so to speak but the moviemakers probably figured nobody gets to make their own choices.
4. Responding to a common complaint about the first film, Raimi and writers found several ways to get Spider-Man’s mask off, some a bit less inspired than others to be charitable about it.
5. Too bad they’re locking the next movie into the Green Goblin again. Perhaps they had this story line about Harry but couldn’t figure out any way to resolve it in this film. On the other hand, maybe if the next film features Spider-Man menaced by the Goblin only to have the two band together when the Secret Six start destroying downtown Manhattan….
6. You can see Raimi go timid in the scene where Peter confesses to Aunt May his role in Uncle Ben’s death. Instead of exploring Peter’s conflicting and not entirely noble motives for this, he just has May pout one night and then forgive Peter. Where’s your complexity now monkey-boy?
7. In the scene where Spider-Man’s costume shows up at the Bugle, Robertson gets a look that seems to indicate--along with surrounding dialogue--that he knows it’s actually Peter’s costume. Nothing ever comes of that so is this just a transient interpretation or was it a dropped plot point?
8. There’s still too much CGI. Maybe Robert Rodriguez should direct the next one.