"Godzilla" is your typical B movie. You know, the corny stuff ala Ed Wood where special effects are lame yet entertaining in their own preposterous way. But in these last embers of the century of innovation, even B movies are suddenly elevated to blockbuster status. But donıt be fooled. This new "Godzilla" is every bit as hokie as itıs predecessors; the smoke and mirror wraping is simply a tad more sophisticated. The dopey script and stupid jokes we expect of B movies come thick and fast in this production.

In case you're not up on the plot, let me sum it up like this. A lizard population minding its own business in the South Pacific falls victim to radiation, thanks to French Nuclear testing. The result is the creation of an abbherant reptile. This freak of nature is not only big, but he's in the process of reproduction, and so has to find a home for his young. So we have a big abbherant pregnant and extremely smart amphibian on a mission.

On our side we have Matthew Broderick as the scientist who reads the toad like a book. Broderick is kinda cute and cuddly in his Ferris Bueller sort of way, and typifies the rest of the cast, who all act pretty much by the numbers. There are the French guys desperate for a decent cup of coffee, chauvenistic t.v. reporters and the bimbo blondes they harrass, and military dudes who shoot first and never think.

But the ending, which gently tugs on the heart strings, gives one pause to reflect on the deeper issue at the core of "Godzilla." Godzilla is, after all, but a by-product of nuclear testing. A big, problematic, by-product who threatens our existence. So we smart human types have to beat our heads together to kill this result of our destructive behaviour. And when we finally do kill our mistake, we rejoice that our world is saved. So does size matter? It was a big big mistake that caused this monster, and it takes a lot of bullets to kill it. So sure, size matters if the way we handle big problems is with a big gun.

But wait a minute. This is just a dumb blockbuster movie that everyone will go see as escapist summer fun. There is nothing about "Godzilla" that I could recommend as good, but it certainly is big.