anyone else totally preferred the first half of the movie?

I do prefer the first half, but the second half was kind of necessary in order to complete the story. It was either that or stretch it out into a third movie (which they ended up doing anyway, but that's beside the point)

The first half is just pure fun, seeing two terminators causing mayhem. But the second half ties up the actual plot points that began in the first movie by going after Skynet before it's born, in much the same manner that Skynet went after them with the terminators

While both halves are great I agree the first half is the better and more enjoyable half of the two, overall it's still a classic movie that I enjoy watching.

the dyson subplots are quite boring.

desert scene were cool. i like them.

I agree the first half is definitely better than the second. The first half doesn’t really let up or slow down at all, it’s so good. As soon as the characters arrive in the desert things take a downward turn but it’s all worth it in the end.

Nah, the second half was way more epic, original, and where the movie really shines and became a classic.

Yeah I can see why. I mean the central villain disappears for a good chunk of the movie while it stops to focus a bit on the characters before seguing into the Miles Dyson/Cyberdyne section. None of that is bad but it loses that urgency and fear from the constant pursuit permeating the first half. Once the T-1000 does finally return it's basically one long (And great) action sequence.

It slows down in the desert because the desert is the intermission. The first act ends after the semi truck scene, the 2nd act ends after the hospital battle, the desert is intermission where we reflect and think deep and the 3rd act starts with Sarah assassination attempt on Dyson.