Tone inconsistent, largely unfocused

Rating: 6/10 (2 May 2014)

First, I love superhero movies and thus wanted to like this more than I did.
I've seen all the predecessors and certainly like Garfield and Stone infinitely more than Tobey and Kirsten, the latter of whom was supremely annoying. The casting in this actually surpassed what I expected with regard to some characters, notably Harry. The James Franco version was certainly different. I was not familiar with Dane DeHaan but he was absolutely creepy enough to be the offspring of Norman...Willem Dafoe's Norman. Some actors simply exude creepiness naturally.
Unfortunately, the movie didn't know what it wanted to be. It could be said that the angst-ridden love story and the heroic tale were part of the same canvas but the transitions were jarring if they existed at all. Wise-cracks were surreptitiously spouted next to life-speeches. Something simple became overstated to the point of confusion.
There was no focal point. The story rambled from point A to point B by an unnecessarily circuitous route and was unsatisfying because of it. Nothing was clear or fleshed out.
Ideally, the ending should have come when Peter decided to hang it up, thus providing something the third installment could build on. We could see the inactive Peter recalling the tragic events of part 2. A situation arises, he recalls Gwen's speech and decides to kick back in to neutralize Rhino. Instead, this anticlimax was stuck at the end and totally collapsed the ending, leaving nowhere to go next time without some creative dancing by writers...and they had better be good ones, more organized than the ones who wrote this.
Finally, I love the music of the Marvel Universe. Spider Man, of course, is still under the Sony aegis and seems not to have received the attention to quality that the Disney efforts are notable for.
Of all the Marvel movies I have seen, I cannot recall one which had such terrible music. It was often inappropriate for the scenes, sometimes absurdly loud, nothing soaring or memorable, not even catchy. It was just clanging, boring and irritating. I was shocked to see Zimmer's name in the credits. I normally love his stuff and it generally lends gravitas to a vehicle.
It might be better to wait until the licensing reverts to Disney before Spider Man 3 is made. While the story could pick up on what's been done, retain characters and so on, it would still receive a fresh treatment and, perhaps, right the ship.