I love Spider-Man 2, but Spider-Man gets my vote.
It was the most exciting at the time. It was the first big Spidey movie, first time we got to hear the beautiful score, first time we saw a movie with Spider-Man wall crawling, web swinging, fighting etc. I really liked the story and how true it was to the comics. Yes there were changes but I felt most worked out well. The origin was told perfectly. Green Goblin is my favorite villain and I loved Dafoe's portrayal. The costume was a bit cheesy in a way, but I think some times, especially with his voice, it came off as kind of terrifying too. Much like the original Goblin suit does. It's a corny get up but when you combine it with Norman something about it is unsettling. I loved the final battle with Spider-Man and Goblin. It remains my favorite. The editing and sound effects were just superb. It was very brutal, and very dark. I liked Raimi's series because it was light overall, but all of them had their darker and more serious scenes.
I liked Peter Parker a lot. I mean I love him in 2 and 3 as well, but in the first we get to see him develop and I loved the way they did it, especially since we saw him before the bite. He was nerdy, kind of goofy, but very likable. I related to him from the start. His transition to Spider-Man was well told, he didn't come off as a complete ass before his Uncle was killed, you kind of understood why he acted the way he did even though you knew it was the wrong thing to do. I felt we truly saw him mature and become a different, better man by the end. I really liked Harry Osborn's inclusion as well, and I thought that it was great having the three central characters (Pete, MJ, and Harry) through all 3 films. It would have been bad if Harry was just thrown in part 2. I'm glad we got to witness him before and after his father's death.
I also think it has the best ending. The music, the cinematography, the writing, the CGI, everything was great. It was a sort of sad ending, which I prefer over the overly happy everything is perfect endings, but it still had a triumphant feel.
I just prefer Spider-Man over the second overall I guess.
That being said, Spider-Man 2 is a damn good movie still.
