Talisa Soto’s portrayal of Kitana in Mortal Kombat (1995) and Mortal Kombat: Annihilation is a prime example of wasted potential. While she looks the part, her performance is wooden, and the writing does her no favors. Lacking depth, agency, and strong action sequences, Kitana remains a forgettable presence in both films.
Casting & Characterization
Talisa Soto certainly has the regal, exotic beauty to play Kitana, but unfortunately, her performance lacks energy, depth, and charisma. Her line delivery is flat, failing to capture the strength and wisdom expected of the character. Rather than embodying Kitana’s warrior spirit, she often comes across as passive and disengaged. She lacks chemistry with her co-stars, particularly Robin Shou’s Liu Kang, making their supposed connection feel forced and unconvincing.
Her action scenes fare no better. In a franchise built around martial arts, Kitana’s fights are some of the weakest in both films. The choreography is slow and unimpressive, and she never feels like a true warrior. Kitana should be a formidable fighter, but Soto’s stiff movements and lackluster execution make her an afterthought in the action.
While she certainly looks like Kitana from the games, that’s where the praise ends. Soto fails to bring the character to life, resulting in one of the weakest performances in the Mortal Kombat films.
Rating: 1 out of 5
Writing & Character Development
Kitana is one of the most poorly written characters in Mortal Kombat and Mortal Kombat: Annihilation. In the first film, she serves mostly as an exposition dump, vaguely guiding Liu Kang without ever taking meaningful action herself. Her dialogue is generic and uninspired, and she never truly feels like a driving force in the story.
Her role in Annihilation somehow gets worse. Stripped of any real agency, she exists purely to be kidnapped and rescued. The film teases an emotional arc with Sindel, her mother, but it’s completely mishandled and resolved in the most laughable way possible. The character has no depth, no growth, and no defining moments.
The writing does Soto no favors, but her lack of presence makes an already weak role even less impactful. Kitana should be a powerful and important figure in the Mortal Kombat universe, yet here, she’s nothing more than a pretty face with no real influence on the plot.
Rating: 1 out of 5
Character Design & Costume
Visually, Talisa Soto’s Kitana looks fairly close to her video game counterpart, but the execution is underwhelming. While it’s not a bad design, it doesn’t stand out in a movie filled with more iconic and striking looks.
Her signature steel fans—one of Kitana’s most recognizable weapons in the games—are completely absent in the first movie, robbing her of a defining combat element. When they finally appear in Annihilation, they are barely utilized, further diminishing Kitana’s impact as a fighter.
Although Soto has the right look for Kitana, her performance does nothing to elevate the character. Unlike Bridgette Wilson’s Sonya Blade, who at least brings intensity to her fights, Soto’s Kitana feels passive and unremarkable. The character design is serviceable, but without a compelling performance or strong action sequences, it fails to leave a lasting impression.
Rating: 1 out of 5
The Verdict
In the end, Talisa Soto looks the part but delivers a lifeless performance as Kitana. Weak writing, lackluster fights, and minimal character depth make her one of the most forgettable aspects of Mortal Kombat and Annihilation. While her costume is decent, nothing else about her portrayal stands out, making her a wasted opportunity. The official rating is 1 out of 5.
Comments
Post a Comment