Excellent essay. I still prefer the first Raimi film in the series, but only by a nose. I think it is probably because, as you point out, the romance works better, and I'm a sucker for romance. That said, the look on MJ's face when she finally sees Peter is Spider-Man, and all the answers fall into place in terms of why he was so late, so mysterious, so emotionally elusive, etc, is rather priceless. At any rate, this is still a first-rate superhero picture, and the train sequence in particular is iconic.