I thought this was very good. It took me a while to get on board but once I did I saw it all in completely new light. It's a movie about journalism and the geopolitical vagueness is most definitely a feature and not a bug.
All this and also the longest one of these MonsterVerse movies is 132 minutes long, coincidentally by far the worst received of the series so far. Everything else either doesn't cross or barely crosses 2 hours. Those Bay movies are challenging you to stick with them for waaay longer.
This is a great interview but I'm mostly posting it as a warning that they get into that particular NC-17 scene later on in way more detail than I expected. Keep the surprise! I had no idea before I saw the movie and the shock value of it is really good. Even in a mostly empty theater you could feel everyone squirming.
Not to get hyperbolic here, but I liked this as much as the original. Nell Tiger Free is stunning and the film isn't afraid to challenge the ratings board. Somewhat uneven at times, but pays off majorly. Really impressive directorial debut.
And there's a fucking Possession homage in it.