At the time this came out it was quite unique in the superhero genre. It showed character development compared to the first Spiderman and a good villian in Doc Octopus. While other superhero films since have matched/surpassed this template, this can be seem as a founding father to todays superhero flicks. For Harry Osborn, read Bucky Barnes.

i was never a huge fan of Tobeys Spiderman, he was good as nerdy Peter Parker but as Spiderman he doesn't crack enough jokes, doesn't have a heroic presence and is too obsessed with rescuing Mary Jane. The latter part could work, except Mary Jane is an unlikable character and the worst part of the film. She's not a strong woman, she's a generic "damsel in distress" who is not exactly 100% loyal to Parker. Compared to what we seen on film in 2018 this type of woman seems quite backward and is not interesting.

The film spends too much time focusing on the Parker-Jane relationship, which dragged the film down. Other aspects were good, Doc Ock's arc was fascinating and was a badass villain. Parkers struggle to balance being a superhero and a ordinary college student is well done, despite the obsession with Mary Jane. And the newspaper guy has the best laugh in the history of cinema. The ending nicely sets up the next film (which unfortunately turned out to be a disaster.)

A good film that has been overshadowed somewhat by todays superhero flicks.