Oh man! The spiderman sequences were utterly fantastic. Garfield is perfect as spiderman and pulls off peter as well; although I wish the character of parker was portrayed more like the comic/rami version where he is really smart and a bit more geeky/awkward- but that's not Garfields fault.
A few thoughts:
The ending was a bit abrupt but I loved the message it carried and how it played out with the kid and all. The fight with rino should have been a bit more conclusive, but then again I didn't want the movie to end because I was so enthrawled with the spidey sequences.
I am glad they explained what happened with the genetically altered spiders from the first film, and why the venom only works properly when combined with peter's blood.
I see what they were going for with the Max Dillon character,-a sympathetic, antisocial lonely, introvert who just wants to be noticed and needed, but it was a little over the top and a complete rip off of the Jim Carey Riddler. The scene where he is talking to himself in the mirror next too the picture of spiderman, made me cringe in a way I hadn't since viewing a movie with bat nipples.
If I was editing this movie I would have cut out the two plane sequences, the max Dillon scene I mentioned above, the drawn out conversation between Peter and Aunt May (where she is jealous about his love of his parents and tells him his dad left him for money), and the hospital scene involving Aunt May. All of these scenes disrupt the pacing of the film and even hurt the characters involved (I.e. Dillon and May)
I wish Harry and Peters relationship was further explored and fleshed out before his transformation into the goblin. I really didn't feel anything between the characters, so the impact of the fractured "friendship" was lost on me. They had about 2 scenes in which they actually seemed liked friends, before harry started going ape **** on peter about finding spiderman. The way he was talking to him didn't seem like they were friends at all.
The infamous glider scene was very well done, and sets up a great conflict to come between Spidey and Goblin. I am going to miss a certain character, I don't know how they will replace that aspect going forward- anything new will inevitably be compared and will fall short.
Overall it was a great time at the movies and my favorite spiderman movie since spiderman 2. Garfield is ****ing spiderman! I wasn't 100% sold on him after ASM1, but now I am believer.
2014 serving up some winners in the comic book movie department with Winter Soldier and ASM2.