Same problem here, with late 2016 model MacBook Pro. Had to format computer, and reinstall Monterey - and in the OS setup phase - gets stuck in the ”critical update” loop. Not luck whatsoever :-(

Encountered same problem today. I believe I solved it. Bottom line: though my Mac was using Monterey - I prepared an install-disk (USB) for macOS Big Sur (not a mistake !) and installed it on the Mac (may require overwriting the Mac - I actually erased and formatted the disk...) - and all worked fine after that. The touch-bar worked again, and and is great. After using Big Sur for an hour, I safely upgraded (via Preferences > Update) to macOS Monterey - and after an addition three hours of work, reboots and all - it's still working great. Try it - it may help you too... All the best.

Encountered same problem today. I believe I solved it. Bottom line: though my Mac was using Monterey - I prepared an install-disk (USB) for macOS Big Sur (not a mistake !) and installed it on the Mac (may require overwriting the Mac - I actually erased and formatted the disk...) - and all worked fine after that. The touch-bar worked again, and and is great. After using Big Sur for an hour, I safely upgraded (via Preferences > Update) to macOS Monterey - and after an addition three hours of work, reboots and all - it's still working great. Try it - it may help you too... All the best.

Encountered same problem today. I believe I solved it. Bottom line: though my Mac was using Monterey - I prepared an install-disk (USB) for macOS Big Sur (not a mistake !) and installed it on the Mac (may require overwriting the Mac - I actually erased and formatted the disk...) - and all worked fine after that. The touch-bar worked again, and and is great. After using Big Sur for an hour, I safely upgraded (via Preferences > Update) to macOS Monterey - and after an addition three hours of work, reboots and all - it's still working great. Try it - it may help you too... All the best.