One of the better Godzilla movies!

Agreed.

While I understand how some may prefer the 99 minute version edited by Sony, and it has it's merits, I prefer the Japanese version. It's dark, purposefully moody, even melancholic, and it's to be taken seriously. Toho's original version has a semi-documentary atmosphere, endowing the events and visuals portrayed with a kind of it's-actually-happening feeling.

In Godzilla 2000 Millennium, although there are moments of humor, there is nothing comparable to some of the cringe-inducing dialogue in the Sony version, like:

"Like crap through a goose" (Patton)
"I don't say that we won't get our hair mussed." (Dr. Strangelove)

Then, in the theatrical release, there was that weird question mark just before the ending credits. Of course, it was removed from the DVD release. So this cheesy signature to the film was only seen by the people who paid their money to see it in the theater.

There are other instances which mark the American version as silly, although enhanced musically, and set it apart from the film made by Toho Studios.

I think I understand what Sony was trying to do. Perhaps it was intended to make which was, in the words of one writer, a low-budget Japanese import, into something more palatable to American audiences. Or, perhaps they intended something else. In any case, one can compare the two versions and decide for themselves.

If it was up to me, I would have retained some scenes cut from the original, like the Millennium Message scene, and Yuki's walk through the attic leading to the GPN shop. The former illustrated the sinister and ominous intentions of the millennial aliens, while the latter demonstrated, without words, the grassroots nature of the Godzilla Prediction Network. Then, one could with greater clarity, contrast the family-run GPN, a group of what amounts to freelance, unofficial Godzilla chasers, with the high-tech, government backed (and funded) Crisis Control Intelligence. CCI, (which proved itself to be not in control and not very intelligent)led by Hiroshe Abe's Kataghiri, is the government/bureaucratic entity that sees itself as not being in need of advise or direction from the scientific community as represented by Yuji Shinoda, head of GPN.

It's little things like this, that are actually big things when seen from within the context of the message and story of Godzilla 2000 Millennium, that make this entry in the Godzilla series so interesting and enjoyable on several levels.