The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)

This was a much more entertaining mess than the previous one. Too long, too focused on the utterly uninteresting mystery of Peter's parents' deaths/disappearance, and still wildly overconfident about its likelihood to spawn (multiple!) sequels. But I liked parts of it. Specifically, pretty much every part that Spider-Man was in. Not Peter though. This version of Peter sucks.

The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)

This movie is boring. And so much of it seems like unnecessary complications added, I guess, for the sake of setting up sequels? Unlike (the first two movies of) the Raimi/Maguire trilogy, I hadn't seen this movie or its sequel until now, so I don't know how much of what they've set up is actually going to be paid off (or was ever intended to). But that's the impression I got while watching it. They expected to turn this into an ongoing series.

Does Peter really need all this backstory? No.

Spider-Man 3 (2007)

This movie is a mess. There are still enjoyable parts, but there's too much going on and none of it is properly developed. Also, the weakest characters of the trilogy (MJ and Harry) have much more prominent roles in this film, to its detriment. I was going to say "important roles", but no. They're not. They just get too much screen time.

I'm not even sure if Peter and MJ actually like each other.

Spider-Man 2 (2004)

In some ways, Spider-Man 2 is more enjoyable than the first film, but it's also not quite as well put-together. It's also a lot funnier, which is a big plus for me, but if you like a more serious tone then you're probably not going to be as happy with this one.

Spider-Man complaining to a stranger about his pants.

Spider-Man (2002)

This movie holds up really well. It's way better than I remembered it being. It's very simple, and it does hold your hand a little too much (even for an all-ages, super-hero movie), but everything in it happens for a reason and it's all driven by the characters' goals and motivations - which are all clearly communicated to the audience. If you haven't seen it, it's worth watching. It's a good movie.

Radiation is out; genetic engineering is in.