Spider-Man 2002 Movie Goofs

In: F.A.Q.

As much as we all love Sam Raimi's first Spider-Man movie, it's notorious for its long list of internal incontinuity and logical lapses. The following is not, of course, an exhaustive list, but it's as close as you're likely to find.

All the slips listed here have been confirmed on the DVD version and arranged in order of occurance. Many of these are also listed on www.movie-mistakes.com and www.nitpickers.com.

A few of the more technical nitpicks have been copied directly from movie-mistakes.com, duly credited, of course.

The Field Trip

Traffic pops up from nowhere in this city!
When Peter first catches up with the school bus at the beginning of the film, there is nothing in front of the bus except for some parked cars along the road. When Peter steps on the bus, however, a semi can be seen through the windshield. The cars, on the other hand, are gone.
This year's spring fashions
When Pete and his classmates arrive at Columbia University, some of the extras are wearing shorts and t-shirts, even though the cast is decked out in warm coats.
Rolling window
When Harry introduces Peter to Norman Osborn, the window of the car behind Osborn's Rolls slides up and down between cuts.
Redheads everywhere!
While Norman and Peter are talking, a redhead in a purple sweater passes behind Peter's shoulder when Osborn says, "science whiz," then a little while later in two consecutive shots behind Norman. She makes a fourth appearance behind Peter mentions his aunt and uncle, and a fifth as Pete and Harry are walking to the building.
Have you no class, Peter Parker?
When Peter is talking about Norman's research on nanotechnology, his classmates disappear briefly behind him.
Budget cuts in the Science Dept.
If Columbia University has the best electron microscope on the eastern seaboard, why doesn't Columbia U's administration give it its own laboratory? It's sharing a room with a genetics project which, by the looks of the monitors around the spiders' cages, is permanently placed.
Handy work
When MJ pushes Flash away and notices Peter looking at her, her hand drops from her shoulder. In the very next cut, her hand is by her shoulder again.
Spider-teleportation
While the Midtown High students are looking at the various different spiders, two of the bugs move between cuts. The first spider we see is crawling against the glass, and when Peter tries to take a picture, it's standing still on the floor. The second one moves from sitting on its web to hauling around three mice.
Listen bud, he's got disappearing blood!
When the super-spider bites Peter, there is a bit of blood around its mandibles, but there is no trace of it when Peter looks at his hand.

Oscorp Laboratories

Oscorp dash
General Slocum leads the Oscorp board in walking through the laboratory, up to the point where Dr. Stromm says, "We need to take the whole line back to formula." Then, not only does Henry Balkan move next to the general during a very brief cut to Norman, but the general has suddenly moved closer to the group, and Osborn has turned 90 degrees.

The Parker Home

Let there be lightbulb
When Uncle Ben takes the newspaper, he has a lightbulb, globe up, in his hand. In the next shot, he has the bulb turned around and his reading glasses (which he never uses), before he's even taken the paper from the counter.
Mirror trick
Peter has a full-length mirror on his door when he first enters his bedroom and when he wakes up in the morning, but it's not there when he pulls his blanket off the bed. Could these be two different doors? When Peter collapses on the floor, there's a bookshelf beside the door, and a green something hanging from the knob, which has moved to the left side.

The Goblin Formula

What am I, your mother?
When Osborn tests the performance enhancers on himself, he throws his lab coat next to a column. The next time the coat is shown, however, it has crawled a foot or so to the left.
A great actor like Willem Dafoe always speaks clearly
When Osborn is getting ready for the goblin formula, he says, "...when the vapor hits the blood stream." He takes his shirt off while he says this, but his voice is never muffled.
Has the maid been through yet?
Before entering the chamber at the Oscorp labs, Osborn drinks a small bottle of promachloroparazine (sp?), and smashes the bottle on the floor. In later shots there are no glass shards to be seen.
I'd be suspicious of self-attaching nodes
Before Osborn undergoes his experiment, Mendel Stromm secures Osborn's arms and walks to a computer. In the next scene, some electrodes or something are shown attached to Norman's chest and forehead.
Faulty wiring
When Osborn is in the gas chamber at Oscorp, the wires from the nodes on his chest change position several times. At first they both point to about 2 o' clock, then they're shown almost vertical, and finally they go off at different angles. Also, sometimes the wires go over his shoulder, sometimes they cross back over his torso.
Keepin' the beat
While he undergoes the experiment, Osborn's vitals are monitored on a computer screen. When his pulse accelerates, the numeric heartbeat indicator rises, but the beeps don't accelerate.
Arms and the man
Throughout the experiment, Osborn has been restrained by metal arms. As soon as Stromm checks to see if Norman's alright, through, the metal arms are no longer holding him.
I also wonder about self-detatching nodes
Maybe he's just really fast, but you never see Osborn removing the nodes from his head and chest between killing Stromm and jumping out of the chamber.

Big Changes

Losing focus
When Peter tries on his glasses the morning after his spider-bite, the whole screen is fuzzy, not just the area shown through the now-unnecessary lenses.
True love waits
When Peter wakes up in the morning, Aunt May asks him if he's alright. If she really loved him, she probably wouldn't have waited about fourteen hours to find out why he went to bed at around 5:00.
Peter Parker, the spectacled Spider-Man
Peter darts out the door pretty quick the morning after his field trip, but even so, Aunt May and Uncle Ben say nothing about his missing glasses.
How time flies
While MJ is walking to the bus stop, her shadow points towards the road. When she stops walking, the sun is shining from the other direction, sending her shadow away from the street.
Fast wheels
When Peter and Mary Jane leave for school, a yellow bus is shown approaching from behind them, with no car in front of the bus. When the perspective changes, a previously unseen black car pulls up to pick up MJ.
Post no bills
When Peter tries to catch up with the bus the second time, he unintentionally grabs the poster on the bus' side. If he can't control his spider-grip, why doesn't he stick to everything? He just picks off the poster with his other hand.
Fire your security team
As a leading supplier of technology for the US government, Oscorp's labs should be loaded with security measures. Surely someone would have seen Osborn and Stromm enter the lab together. When Stromm is found dead, wouldn't Norman be a suspect, especially considering their disagreement in front of General Slocum?

Fighting Flash

It's not just for breakfast anymore
MJ slips on some orange juice in the school cafeteria, but in later shots the juice is not there.
Sweeping the feet in to under her
Peter never really stands MJ up on her own feet after catching her, she just shifts from being in his arms to being on her feet at some point during their ensuing conversation.
Another fork-up
When Peter first notices the fork stuck to his hand, it's attached to his palm. When he turns his hand over, though, it has wandered down to his wrist.
Bite me
When Peter looks at his hand in the cafeteria (after the fork is stuck to his palm), his spider bite is gone. When he leaves the school, it is back again.
Corn pop-ups
When Pete accidentally shoots his webbing for the first time and grabs a tray, it doesn't seem to have any corn on it. But when the tray hits Flash, he's dripping with corn.
(Re)moves stains instantly!
Peter accidentally hits Flash with the tray on the left shoulder, but when Flash stands up, the stain temporarily jumps to the right shoulder.
That grabby Parker
When Peter fights Flash in the hallway, he grabs Flash's wrist, but Pete's hand moves in relation to Flash's wristband.
I just don't know what to think!
When Peter punches Flash down the hall, a bespectacled guy (from the chess club) appears behind Mary Jane, looking surprised. When Harry says, "Peter, that was amazing," the same guy looks happy and applauds. very soon afterwards, the fella is shown looking surprised again.

Discovering New Powers

Aunt May warned me this would happen if I kept looking in MJ's window...
The little hairs/hooks on Peter's fingertips are long enough to be seen (and look really gross) by the naked eye. And they're growing while he looks at them.
Cleaning up the town
When Peter tries wall-crawling for the first time, the alley wall looks pretty dirty from the ground, but when Peter looks back down from above, it's noticably cleaner.
The gravity of the situation
When Peter first starts climbing walls in the alley, his clothes hang towards the wall, suggesting that Tobey Maguire might really be crawling along a horizontal surface.
A shadow of my former self
As Peter climbs up the alley wall, his shadow is in front of him, suggesting lighting coming from the alley floor, rather than the street (at his right) or the sky (above him).
Ever-changing footwear fads
When Peter first climbs the alley wall, his shoes are dark blue/grey Nikes. When he tries web-swinging, they are much lighter in colour.
Maybe it's laundry day
When Peter is hopping from building to building, he is jumping repeatedly over the same alley with the same clothes on the clothesline(s).
Quit hogging the rope swing and let someone else have a turn!
When Peter is swinging for the first time, there is one point at which you can see Tobey Maguire replaced by a stunt man, who looks older than Tobey.
Traffic can be...painful
When Peter hits the "Traffic can be fun!" sign, he bounces back and lets go of his webline. As he falls, though, he seems to slide along the sign, as if he didn't bounce back at all.

Backyard Chit-Chat

You know what they say about MJ...
When Peter is talking with Mary Jane in their back yards, MJ's underwear sticks above her pants in some cuts.
(I'm just repeating what the car guys at movie-mistakes.com said on this one)
"During the scene when Flash arrives to MJ's house with a new car, the vehicle is clearly a Plymouth Prowler, which has a V6 engine... on the sound track, there's an unmistakeable exhaust note of a very throaty V8."

A Spider-Man is Born

I'd give my right arm to be ambidextrous...
When Peter sketches ideas for his costume, his pen switches briefly to his left hand. Tobey Maguire is left-handed.
Nothing will destroy our memories
The picture beside the Dr Pepper can moves and heals itself between cuts. The model rocket also fixes itself.
Let there be lightbulb, part 2
When Peter practises web-shooting, he breaks his blue lamp, but when Aunt May comes to the door, the lamp has been replaced on the dresser.
Hang-ups with the webbing
When Aunt May leaves Peter to his "exercising," there is webbing criss-crossed all over Peter's room. However, if the webbing shoots from Peter's wrist, why would both ends of the web strands be attached to the walls, instead of having a bunch of loose weblines hanging from the walls?

Trouble Brewing

Slow news day
Norman reads a copy of the Daily Bugle which features his company's rivalry with Quest Aerospace. This is hardly front page material for a great metropolitan tabloid.

Bonesaw McGraw

One way? Which way?
When Peter and Uncle Ben talk in the car, they are on a one-way street, but the reflection behind Uncle Ben shows cars going the wrong way.
It's my turn
When Uncle Ben says, "You shirk your chores," Peter is looking away from him, but when the perspective changes, he has turned his head.
Vanishing plant life
During Peter and Uncle Ben's conversation, there are plants behind Peter. When Pete gets out of the car, the greenery is gone. When Peter and his uncle are talking in the car, and the camera is on Peter,
...nor iron bars a cage
The wrestling cage's walls are shown coming together twice, separated by a brief cut to the audience.
Suction gloves, anyone?
If Spider-Man's wall-crawling ability is based on tiny hairs on his fingers, then even if you argue that the hairs could stick through his thin Spider-Man costume, he still wouldn't be able to stick to walls with the gloves he uses against Bonesaw McGraw.
Gimme some glovin'
Unless Peter cut holes in his first costume's gloves (which, I admit, is a possibility), webbing from his wrist could not pass through his gloves or sweater. This argument also holds for Peter's Spider-Man costume, but maybe Peter made a nozzle like comic-Spidey's metal web-shooters.
I thought they took an hour to dissolve
During "the Human Spider's" cage fight against "Macho Man" Bonesaw McGraw, Peter shoots two weblines nearly from the floor to the cage's ceiling. Those weblines vanish almost instantly.
What do you mean it's fake?!?!
Bracketing the integrity of the wrestling entertainment industry, the mock- metal bars on the wrestling cage shake under any contact. Macho Man would never have put up with this in his prime.
Read my lips
When a Bonesaw-ette gives McGraw a crowbar, you hear, "Kick his spider ass," but the words don't match the actress' mouth.
Ben Urich you ain't
We know that at least a couple of people in the New York Wrestling Federation arena have seen the face of the newly-dubbed Spider-Man. What would keep them from revealing his identity once Peter changes his costume and becomes a hero? The promoter hardly seems worried about doing the right thing.

The Death of Uncle Ben

Join the crowd
When Peter notices people rushing along the street (before he sees that Uncle Ben has been shot), a girl with a white shirt, black jacket, and black boots walks with two guys behind Peter's right shoulder. When Peter gets to the crowd, though, they're already there.
Out, damned spot
Peter finds Uncle Ben clutching his wound, but when Peter holds his hand, there is no blood on either Uncle Ben's or Peter's hand.
Spider-mousse
When Peter leaves Uncle Ben's body and runs down an alley to change clothes, his hair, which has been moving slightly as Peter runs, suddenly stops.
Holey--!
After Peter jumps onto Uncle Ben's car, the carjacker shoots seven times through the roof. Shortly after, nine bullet holes are shown from above, then none, then nine again when the car approaches the warehouse.
Loaded
When the carjacker enters the abandoned warehouse, he is holding the gun in his left hand and carrying the bag of money in his right. When he loads the gun, however, the gun and the bag have instantly switched hands.
Yo-yo, yo
When Peter descends upside-down on the webline behind the panicked crook, I suppose he is sliding down the line, but there is no indication that he climbs back up, or how he manages to ascend again in such a fluid manner.
Poppin' a cap
The crook's black cap disappears when Peter kicks him (in the chest) against the wall.
Nothin' up my sleeve...
When Peter finally confronts Uncle Ben's killer and throws him through a window, the crook drops his gun and takes a knife. Pete kicks the knife into the ceiling and kicks the crook up against a wall. Surprise! The crook has his gun back!
(I'm going with the gun experts at movie-mistakes.com on this one)
(I'm Canadian, I don't know what a cocked gun looks like)
When Uncle Ben's killer enters the warehouse he reloads his gun and pulls the slide back to cock it. Later, when he points the same gun at Peter, you can hear the distinct sound of the hammer being pulled back. However, despite cocking the gun twice, you can see that the gun is not cocked.

Commencement

That grabby Gobby
When Norman talks to Peter at graduation he puts one hand on Peter's shoulder. When Harry sees MJ break up with Flash, Norman has both, then none, then one hand on Pete's shoulder again.
But they're so pretty!
The orange flowers in the background at Midtown High's graduation ceremony are called birds of paradise. They're popular in sunny California, but they would never survive in New York.
Parker forgetfulness is like tooth care: it gets rid of plaque
Peter has a science award plaque at the graduation ceremony, but he's carrying only his diploma when he gets home.

Spider-Man: Headliner

It's always the same old thing in the news these days
In the scene after Spider-Man stops the convenience store robbers, it shows a newspaper article. This article virtually repeats itself, except for slight discrepencies. Here's what you can read: "Witnesses claim an unknown masked man was seen exiting the Ling Deli after stopping two suspects from attempting to rob the establishment. Police spokesman John Young said "we've heard of good Samaritans, but in 20 years I've never seen anything like this." The two suspects were taken to the County jail. Witnesses [Column break] attempting to rob that same establishment. Police spokesman John Young said "we've heard of good Samaritans, but in 20 years I've never seen anything like this." The two suspects were taken to County jail. Reports also surfaced late yesterday evening that the masked man was on his way to"
Deja news
In the Spider-Man newspaper montage, there is some repetition in the articles. Just before Spider-Man puts on his mask, the second and fourth column in the article mention "NYPD spokesperson, Sean Young," for example.
I wouldn't drink that if I were you
Betty puts a cup of coffee on the left of Jameson. A little while later, the cup has moved on its own a bit to the right.

Mary Jane Watson: Struggling actress

You hear such horrible things about New York traffic...
When Peter catches up with Mary Jane outside the diner, he does so in the middle of the street. I've never been to the city myself, but isn't somebody likely to run them over, or at least honk?
Maybe he's just lost
A heavy guy with a flat beige cap is seen several times in the background while Peter's talking with Mary Jane. He first appears when Peter says, "So you're acting now?" and then when he says, "Harry doesn't live on a little place I like to call Earth," and finally when MJ leaves.
A very popular car
A maroon sedan passes behind Mary Jane twice, in quick succession, outside the diner. It first appears when she says she just came from a job, and then when Enrique shouts at her. The driver appears to be the same, too.
Wrap star
Mary Jane wraps her coat around herself twice in quick succession during her conversation with Peter, once right after she shows him her diner uniform, and again when she says, "Don't tell Harry."
Collar and tell her how you feel...
MJ's coat collar changes several times between shots when she and Peter are talking outside the diner, especially when they're talking about Harry.
Bermuda Triangle Ave, NYC
Every time a car passes behind Mary Jane during the conversation on the one- way street by the diner, it vanishes before it goes behind Peter.

Peter Parker: Superhero, freelancer

If only nukes and landmines were that easy to get rid of
Before Spider-Man arrives at the armoured car robbery, the crooks are all armed with formidable-looking guns. As soon as Spidey drops among them, the weapons are gone.
Pennies from heaven
Spider-Man interrupts an armoured car robbery and dispatches the crooks in quick succession. When he lands from his bouncing frenzy of justice, a money bag appears at his feet, though it wasn't there in the previous shot.
Get a refund on that timer!
While Spidey is fighting the thugs, there are no clicking sounds or flashes from the camera, but when he turns to his web, the camera takes three shots in quick succession.
I'll show you advancing on a model...
At the school field trip, when Peter is taking pictures of Mary Jane, his camera is quite obviously a manual advance model. When he's taking pictures at the armoured car robbery, the camera is loading itself.
Like night and day
When Peter sells his first pics to Jonah, it is clearly daylight in the pics, however, when he took them it was night.
Never play poker with this man (for several reasons)
Some of Peter's photos change while Jameson is flipping through them, while the camera looks over his shoulder. The third photograph in his hands shows Spider-Man climbing a building, but when it hits his desk, it becomes Spider-Man kicking a criminal. The fourth picture also changes while Jameson waves it around.
Quick pics
When Jameson barks, "Sit down!" and Peter gives Jonah the photos, the folder of photos changes position between shots. It starts off straight, but shifts diagonally just before Peter leaves.

The World Unity Festival

You've got to know what's right
When Peter is taking photos at the World Unity Festival, his rights and lefts get all muddled up. His right-handed camera temporarily becomes a left-handed model when he looks up at Harry and Mary Jane, and the part in his hair has shifted to the other side, as well.
The eyes deceive when he eyes the sleeve
When Harry asks MJ why she didn't wear the black dress to the World Unity Festival, he's touching Mary Jane's right sleeve. In the next cut, his arm is down.
A little lip action
When Mary Jane turns her head to deflect Harry's advances, her teeth are showing slightly. In the next cut, she is smiling with her lips together.
Hello, beautiful
When the Green Goblin appears, Oscorp's board recognises their glider, but no one says anything about the Goblin's suit. Why exactly would Oscorp design such a monstrous mask on a military weapon for the government?
Goblin's blowout debut
At his appearance at the World Unity Festival, the Green Goblin throws a pumpkin bomb under the Oscorp board's private balcony. It is not shown going through a window to the inside of the building, and yet the windows shatter outwards in the explosion.
Watch for falling balconies doesn't mean watch falling balconies!
When parts of the balcony start falling among the crowd, a blonde woman and a man start to run from the scene. In the next shot, the two have stopped, turned around, and are watching bits of building get bigger and bigger right above them. Lucky for stupid people Spider-Man is there to pull them out of harm's way.
Maybe they were vampires?
Standing only a few feet from the Green Goblin's pumpkin bomb, Harry and Mary Jane are completely unaffected by the bomb that dusts Oscorp's board members with more dispatch than Buffy staking a night creature.
Wheelchair inaccessible
When the Green Goblin disintegrates Oscorp's board members, Max Fargas' wheelchair survives the explosion. As the balcony continues to crumble, though, it has seemingly been moved out of the way.
Pitchin' a tent
When Spider-Man first knocks the Green Goblin from his glider, Gobby lands on a purple tent. When the glider pops a blue balloon, and the balloon falls to the ground, the tent is shown intact in the wide shot.
So far to fall
When Mary Jane looks down from the crumbling balcony, the people below appear so small that they're unrecognisable. Harry, however, recognised Peter earlier.
So far to shawl
After Spidey webs up Gobby's eyes, and MJ screams (again), her shawl is temporarily missing.
I just column like I see 'em
As Mary Jane falls from the balcony, there are two fallen columns beneath her, one on either side of the red area (the one on the left is lying at an angle). When Spider-Man catches MJ, one column is missing.
Another quick repair crew
When Spider-Man dives to save MJ from falling, fires are burning through five of the windows above him, but there is no other evidence of pumpkin bombs. Even the windows are intact.
Just the old 60s cartoon!
After Spidey has saved MJ from the balcony, he casts a webline into the air and swings away. What does that webline attach to?
A mighty wind
When Spidey rescues/kidnaps Mary Jane from the World Unity Festival, and Mary Jane faces her protector, the hair is blowing behind her, despite swinging backwards through the air.
Swingin' on Cloud 9
When Spidey brings MJ to St. Patrick's Cathedral, once again, it doesn't look like his webline's attached to anything.
Spider-ventriloquism
Whenever Spider-Man talks, his jaw doesn't move. This is first obvious at the cathedral, but consistent throughout the film.
Stay where you are!
At St. Patrick's Cathedral, when Spidey says, "Your friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man," the man behind them starts walking. In the next shot, he is standing still again.
Let's find someplace more private
Once Spider-Man swings away, the man and woman behind MJ are gone.
Now who put that there?
When Spider-Man leaves Mary Jane at the cathedral, he appears to jump up on something to clear the ledge. When MJ runs up to watch him go, she has to navigate around something to get the best view possible.

Festival Aftermath

What's the opposite of tone-deaf?
Harry talks with MJ on his cell phone, and eventually she hangs up on him, leaving poor Harry listening to a dial tone. Most cell phones, of course, do not have dial tones.
Selective hearing
Not only does the audience hear the dial tone from Harry's cell phone, but it is the only part of her end of the conversation that we hear. We do not hear her voice before she hangs up.
Yet another case of repetition
When Norman Osborn looks at the "Oscorp Board Murdered" article in the newspaper, you can see more repetition. For example, the second paragraph below Fargas' photo begins, "Although these two freaks managed..." The second paragraph on the rightmost column begins the same way.
Hair's looking at you
After he looks at the newspaper, Osborn's hair is remains a little more orderly than mirror-Osborn's hair. Maybe that's intentional, to suggest the chaotic nature of mirror-Norman, but it's more subtle than we're used to from the director of Evil Dead 2.

J. Jonah Jameson: Big jerk

The Jonah-phone
When Peter's in Jameson's office after the World Unity Festival, the phone in jolly Jonah's hand moves back and forth from his ear between shots when he calls Hoffman.
Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar...
When Hoffman suggests calling the Green Goblin "the Green Meanie," Jameson takes the cigar from his mouth. In the next cut he's holding it up.
...and sometimes it's a magic cigar!
When the Green Goblin throws Jameson's cigar back in his office, it arcs through the air over the desk. When it lands, though, it's on Jameson's paper, near the window.
Touched by an angle
Jameson throws his cigar butt out the window while he's yelling at Peter, and the Green Goblin (who, despite his moral shortcomings, will not tolerate littering) throws it back. Jameson looks at the cigar, sitting at an angle at his desk. When the Goblin bursts through the window, though, he is sitting straight, with both hands on his desktop.
Watch where you point those things!
Just before the Green Goblin gases Spider-Man, his hands instantly change position, from stretched out at Gobby's sides to stretched out in front of him.
If a Spider-Man falls through the air, does he make a sound?
When Gobby gases Spider-Man and causes him to fall from Jameson's office, you can hear Spidey hitting the ground almost immediately, though he's many storeys up in the next shot.

Green Goblin: Frickin' Nuts

Seeing through a glass darkly
When the Goblin tries to recruit Spider-Man, he retracts his yellow lenses, with a little bit left showing. Almost immediately after, when Goblin says, "Well, to each his own," none of the lenses are is showing, and then a bit of yellow is back again.

Peter Saves Mary Jane / The Kiss

Strap-happy
When Peter chats with Mary Jane after her audition, the straps of her purse switch from above her coat collar to under it.
You'll catch your death in this weather
Mary Jane is wearing a coat when she's being pursued by the four hooligans. Although no one actually takes it off, and MJ certainly wouldn't let it go easily in those circumstances, it's gone when Spider-Man appears.
More quick-dissolve webbing
The weblines that Peter uses to pull two goons away from MJ is gone in every subsequent shot.
They grow back!
When Peter rescues MJ from her four attackers, he throws two of them into two windows behind Mary Jane. The next time Mary Jane is shown, though, the windows are intact.
Curb this violence!
When Peter finishes with the last of Mary Jane's attackers, he picks him up in the middle of the street. After a quick cut to MJ, though, Spidey has one foot on the curb.
Peek-a-boo
After Mary Jane is safe, and looking to thank her rescuer, Spider-Man drops down behind her. She's a few feet away from him when he speaks, but when she turns around, she's suddenly much closer.
Always risking his neck
At the World Unity Festival, Peter takes off his shirt Superman-style, and shows his costume underneath, with a low-cut neckline. When Mary Jane pulls up (down?) Spider-Man's mask to kiss him, his neck is covered. (And anyone who's ever tried to make a Spider-Man costume will tell you, the mask will never work right with a low neckline.)
I'd want to shoot that scene a bunch of times, too!
During Spider-Man's and Mary Jane's conversation and upside-down kiss, the rain keeps quickly getting heavier and lighter.

Fire-Fighting

Could you scream a little louder, please?
While one woman says, "Look! Up there!" the other woman says, "My baby!" but with no sound.
It's a bird! It's a bug! It's...
At the burning apartment building, a woman points above her head and says, "Look! Up there!" Spider-Man, however, is still several blocks away--very probably out of sight--while she's pointing.
Spider-hearing
A woman implores Spider-Man to save her baby from a burning building. True, she shouts, but he's quite far away with the wind rushing by his ears, so it's unlikely that he could have heard her.
Tinker, tailor, soldier, laundry service
The burning apartment is already in danger of collapsing, and firefighters and residents are grimy from soot and smoke, but when Spider-Man hands the grateful mother her baby, it looks like the baby and blanket came straight from a commercial for laundry detergent.
No smoking
Granted, they both have masks, and as a military suit it's conceivable that the Green Goblin's suit could have some sort of gas mask feature even though you can see Osborn's mouth move, but neither of the superdudes suffer from the smoke or heat from the fire while they're fighting in the burning building.
More goblin magic
The Green Goblin attacks Spider-Man with a pumpkin bomb loaded with some (remote controlled?) razor blades, but as they fly past Spider-Man, the one on the left magically vanishes.

Thanksgiving Dinner

Successful men know how to manage time
Spider-Man leaves the burning building before the Green Goblin, but he still isn't home in the time it takes Osborn to fly home, change clothes, pick up a fruitcake, get to Pete and Harry's pad, and be introduced to Mary Jane. It seems unlikely that he would have kept patrolling after leaving the apartment, knowing that the Green Goblin might be looking for him.
Where are the pockets on those tights?
Assuming that Peter is carrying the cranberry sauce when he swings home for Thanksgiving dinner, where is he carrying it when he first arrives in his costume? It certainly isn't in his hands.
Growing blood
When a single drop of Peter's blood drips to the floor from the ceiling, it turns into quite a big puddle on the floor.
They say the hearing's the second to go (after your mind)
Norman can hear a drop of blood drop behind him, but he seems not to notice Peter scurrying away on the ceiling above.
No mutant healing factor?
Spider-Man has been swinging around in the cold air for some time (especially considering all that Norman's been able to do since leaving the burning building), and yet his cut is still fresh enough to bleed through his shirt at the dinner table.
This year, I'm thankful for MJ
While Peter and Norman are talking at the Thanksgiving table, Mary Jane's arms change position between cuts, from being in her lap to being forded.

The Goblin Strikes

From the age of the telegraph
While she's praying, Aunt May flinches just before the Green Goblin crashes through her wall.
Reach out and... grab your change
When Peter calls MJ, the second coin makes the sound of dropping into the coin return slot. He should not be able to complete the call.
Must be a wrong number
Peter calls Mary Jane from the hospital to make sure she's okay. But when MJ listens to her answering machine after getting home from the bridge, isn't she going to wonder why the Green Goblin calls him Spider-Man?

The Bridge

Invisible wreckage
The Green Goblin causes an explosion big enough to make Mary Jane flinch all the way on the top of the bridge, but no evidence of the explosion is ever seen again.
Goblin magnet boots?
When Gobby presents Spidey with the "sadistic choice" on the bridge, he is holding up the tram car with one hand. Even assuming he's strong enough to hold the thing, how do his metal/plastic boots have enough grip to keep him standing on the bridge?
Hey hey hey, watch those hands, mister!
When the Green Goblin holds MJ from the bridge, his thumb is visible at Mary Jane's throat when she is shown close up. In the next shot at that angle, his thumb is not shown, and finally he appears to be holding MJ by the shoulder.
A voice like an angel...or soon to be one
Mary Jane is able to move her head and scream while she is being held by the Green Goblin by the throat.
Spidey likes the big girls
I guess we can chalk this up to artistic license, but when Spider-Man's watching the tram car and MJ drop, Mary Jane is shown as big as an entire car full of people.
Just another day in New York
When the Goblin drops the tram car, the kids are yelling and panicked, while their chaperone is standing passively behind them.
Balancing acts
The occupants of the cable car remain standing while the car drops and swings around. I would expect at least a few of them to lose their balance.
Cable car yo-yo
When the Green Goblin is holding the tram car, the cable passes through some sort of pulley on the top of the car. When Spider-Man catches the cable, one end is fastened to the roof of the car.
The Yankees' next draft
While Spider-Man is hanging under the bridge, hanging on to the tram car, the Green Goblin's charge is averted by a gas can thrown by a watching motorist. This can, then, was pitched from the bridge above, curved around the bridge's railing, and hit an unseen, moving target with enough impact to knock him off-target. Unlikely, to say the least.
My heart will go on
When Gobby ropes up Spider-Man and carries him off, the barge carrying the tram car has disappeared. Hope it didn't sink under the weight...

Showdown

Always use in an open, well-ventilated area
When Spider-Man is thrown into the overgrown garden for his final showdown with the Green Goblin, he rolls up against a wall. When the Goblin throws a pumpking bomb after him, though, Spider-Man is getting to his feet away from any wall.
Goblin glider glove box
When Spider-Man crashes into the overgrown garden, the Green Goblin throws a pumpkin bomb at him. However, he was obviously not carrying it in his hands while at the bridge. Where does he keep his spare pumpkin bombs?
Glad I skipped the moisturiser
Any grenade that can tear Spider-Man's mask should cause serious damage to Peter's face, as well, unless he has really tough skin.
That's more than 800% increased performance!
Spider-Man tries to keep the rampaging Goblin back by making a wall of webbing, which Gobby tears through faster than a panicked hobbit. This is the same webbing that just held up a tram car full of people, and movie-Spidey doesn't have adjustable web spray settings to allow for different web density.
Facewash
The blood on Spider-Man's face (especially under his mouth and nose) appears and disappears during his final confrontation with the Green Goblin.
Flawless victory. Finish him
When the Green Goblin is ready to finally kill Spider-Man, he has a triple- pronged weapon in his hand, which was nowhere to be seen before.
I bet it can't even cut a soda can in half!
After threatening Mary Jane, Green Goblin tries to stab Spider-Man. Spider-Man holds the Goblin's weapon and pushes it away. We'll assume that only the points are sharp, so that Spider-Man can actually hold the blades without slicing his hands apart, but you can still see the blades rattle as the weapon shakes from being pushed in two directions.
More quick-dissolving webbing
Spider-Man uses two weblines to pull the Green Goblin's feet out from under him in their final encounter. When he pulls the brick wall onto the Goblin, those weblines are gone.
What's a comic book fight without throwing brick walls on each other?
When Spider-Man pulls a brick wall on the Green Goblin, the wall stays intact as it crushes Gobby. In the next shot, the wall has been to reduced to rubble, and the Goblin is able to crawl out.
Where'd that multi-million-dollar budget go?
Just before the Green Goblin pulls his mask off, Spider-Man pushes him up against a formidable-looking brick wall. The second time Gobby hits the wall, it wobbles.
A real head-turner
When Gobby's takes his mask off, he puts his left hand on his jaw. When the camera angle changes, his left hand is on the top of his helmet, and the right hand is on the jaw.
Lend me your hands if we be friends
When Osborn appeals to Spider-Man to believe in him, he reaches out with one hand while supporting himself with the other. Without shifting his weight, he suddenly has both hands out when he says, "I've been like a father to you."
Well, I never said it was a good idea...
The Green Goblin controls his glider into position behind Spider-Man. However, it's going fast enough that, even if it did impale Spidey, those massive blades (thick enough to end up through Osborn and the brick wall behind him) would have impaled the Green Goblin anyway.
What are you gonna do, catch the thing?
When Spider-Man dodges the charging Goblin Glider, the Green Goblin holds up his arms as if to protect his face from the glider. When the camera closes in on Osborn's face for him to say "Oh" (the sort of thing that he would probably say before or while holding up his arms), his arms are not shown, but they are up at his head again in time for the glider to hit, nowhere near Osborn's face.
The cleansing power of brick
The Green Goblin is impaled by th blades on his glider, but when they are shown through the brick wall, there is hardly any blood on them.
Curtain call
When Peter returns Osborn's body to his house, the curtains are completely still. In the second it takes Harry to get a gun from a drawer, then, Spidey opens the door and exits, leaving the curtain blowing in the breeze.

The Cemetery

Does Peter use make-up?
At Norman Osborn's funeral, Peter bears no bruise or any sign that he was bombed and beaten by the Green Goblin only a few days before.
More ventriloquism
When Harry tells Peter, "You're the only family I have," his face doesn't move.
Bright, bright, sunshiny day
The sun is shining on Peter's right side when he's at Uncle Ben's grave. It should be shining in Mary Jane's face throughout her conversation with Peter, but it isn't.
That's some kiss!
Peter's hair changes slightly between cuts during his conversation with Mary Jane at Uncle Ben's grave.
A matter of perspective
The angle of Peter and MJ's heads changes between different camera angles when they kiss at Uncle Ben's grave.
Nimble fingers
After MJ kisses Peter in the cemetery, her hand moves around Peter's face between cuts, and even drops completely when Peter says, "That's all I have to give."

Spider-Man Forever

Web-swinging bewilderment
In general, when Spider-Man swings around town, he never seems to have to correct the aim of his webbing due to his own movement. He should need to adjust his aim in anticipation of his own swinging motion, and his webs would not look like they shoot out in a straight line. This is most obvious in the closing shot.

Compiled By Bryan Thiessen