TONS OF SPOILERS BELOW, DON'T READ IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE MOVIE
I really liked the message of the movie about heroism and being willing to give up your personal dreams. What I didn't like was the horrible fairy tale ending which completely violates the comic book storyline and destroyed most of the integrity the 2 films had going to that point. The ending of the original movie was so much more sobering/realistic and knowing what is supposed to happen to Jameson's astronaut son in the symbiote/Venom storyline I would have been perfectly fine with the way things appeared to be going. If they had pursued the symbiote/Venom storyline they could have had Mary Jane begrudgingly marry Jameson's son. Then the NASA shuttle accident happens because of the symbiote, Jameson's son dies, Jameson blames Spider-man, Mary Jane doesn't know what to think. And the symbiote finds Eddie Brock and becomes Venom. It had potential to setup for a great 3rd movie. Instead they're going to retread with the Green Goblin again. Which I guess is okay, just get rid of that stupid Mighty Morphin Power Rangers looking mask. I hate that thing, seriously I don't want to watch another Spider-man movie having to look at that thing. The Mary Jane/Peter Parker love story has been the main plot of both movies so far and they tied it up so completely it's a shame. It's like Ross and Racheal getting together on Friends, it's stupid cause they made it happen way too early. They left nothing for a 3rd movie.
Looking past the fake and completely cheesy ending though the movie was really poignant, and really made you feel the sacrifices Peter Parker had to make and was willing to give up. I just wish they didn't make everything so easy and tie up so nicely. Plus the fact that half the freakin city and every single one of his friends now knows his secret really makes me wonder how interesting a 3rd movie could really be. Obviously they're not going to pursue the Venom storyline and will keep things simple with Harry Osbourne becoming the new Green Goblin. That's probably better for movie going audiences, rather than just adding more peripheral characters, they will stick to the drama of the main characters. It's kind of annoying to keep seeing secondary characters like Dr. Connors and Eddie Brock and know that they will probably never come into play though.
My other problem, what the heck was with Dr. Ock's arms? Why were they acting like snakes, hissing and chirping?? And why did each arm have a mind of it's own? Weren't they just mechanical appendages? That was kind of bizarre. And going back to the pretty lame ending it seemed like it was way too easy to just turn Doc Ock back to good just by removing his mask. It seemed at that point like Peter Parker didn't even care anymore about hiding his identity from anyone. It seems like a fine decision after the fact, but at the time Parker didn't know that Doc Ock was going to be willing to kill himself. Why would Parker think that Doc Ock would give a crap who Spider-man was? It wasn't like there was such a long deep relationship between Peter Parker and Octavious that he would just snap out of it and realize what he was doing was wrong.
I really like how the villians in the Spider-man movies aren't completely two-dimensional and actually have reasons for what they are doing. I really love the way Peter Parker isn't perfect, it's his flaws and failings that make him feel real, like someone you can relate to. Instead Parkers always trying to balance everything in his life and nothing works out perfectly. When he tries to focus on just 1 aspect of his life it doesn't work out perfectly either and that's what makes this movie feel so great. Life is not perfect and no matter how hard he tries Peter Parker never obtains it. The ending comes way too close to a happily ever after finale though. More stuff I loved... The guy who plays Jameson was pitch perfect. Out of everyone in these movies he nailed his part perfectly and brought the comic book character to life. Cameos from Stan Lee, Hal Sparks, and Bruce Campbell were great. New York City was great. The city felt real, and not like Hollywood's version of New York. If they had saved this ending for the 3rd final film I would have been okay with it.
Overall I'd give the movie 3 1/2 stars. Could have been a perfect 4 star movie for me if they hadn't gone with that cliched perfect romance ending and with Spider-man getting all of his powers back so easily. Maybe would have been nice to have pursued the Dr. Connors storyline instead of the direction they are going. At the end of the day it's still an incredibly inspiring story to tell, even if they gave it an overdone Hollywood ending it still had a meaningful Heartland message at the very center of the movie. Everyone should see this movie and try to look past the comic book wrapper that adorns this story. It sounds incredibly stupid to say because it's a comic book movie, but these movies make me reflect upon my own life and think about how the decisions I make in my life affect the people around me. Maybe it's not something everyone can relate to, I don't know. As good as the action and special effects are, I still think its the powerful story that makes these Spider-man films so great. I couldn't have picked a better or more inspiring tale to see on the 4th of July. I'm really glad I went to see this movie when I did.
TONS OF SPOILERS ABOVE, DON'T READ IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE MOVIE
What the heck are you doing reading this far into a thread about Spider-man 2 if you don't want the movie spoiled anyway?