Dr. Andrews asks Dr. Nathan about connection between Jia and King Kong:
Dr. Andrews: Do you think he would take directions from her?
Dr. Nathan: No.
Dr. Andrews: If we have someone who can keep the reins on Kong...
Dr. Nathan: Yeah, no one can keep the reins on Kong.
Is the "yeah" word used here as recognition rather than confirmation of "yes"?
Source: Godzilla vs. Kong (2021)
I think you have the general idea correct, yes.
In this case, "yeah" is being used to indicate an acknowledgement of understanding what the other person is saying (but not necessarily agreement).
There is actually really an implied "but" in this statement (which you can tell because what follows appears to be a contrary statement), so the meaning is basically "yeah, I understand what you mean, but ..." or "yeah, that may be true, but ..."
