The following is an in-depth story analysis. If you haven't watched this movie, you might want to before reading this review.
When I reviewed the first Spider-Man film, I made the comment that Peter Parker wasn't proactive enough. I didn't like that he was depicted as often so depressed and bruting, compared to the early comic book Peter Parker, who had a lot of the same problems, but even at his most depressed, would be sarcastic and joke his way through his troubles. Mary Jane too, was too overly dramatic to me. I wanted her to be overconfident rather than having insecurity issues; take her problems in stride than pretend they weren't there. Sam Raimi interpreted these characters differently from how I knew them, and so, I'm not going to complain that this movie has those same characterizations that I don't like; it's a sequel and those characters are already established. In fact, Spider-Man 2 takes Peter and Mary Jane's uncertainties and insecurities and addresses them. Both characters' arcs become all about how they deal with their problems; about growing as people; about becoming more proactive. While the first film was a superhero origin story, this one is a coming of age story.