With the latest Mortal Kombat movie rumors sparking a surprised reaction [full story], we're reminded that you can never take for granted what will eventuate from the adaptation process.

Video games have now spent decades flirting with cinema, but in that time, very few movies have broken through an assumed stigma of incompatibility that still exists between the interactivity of games, and the plot structure of popular film. For prominent figures like film critic, Roger Ebert -- who infamously wrote in a 2010 blog, "... video games can never be art." -- the flaw may be presumed to lie in the source.

Despite the inherent similarities between these audio-visual mediums, which fans are no doubt more sympathetic to, critics and audiences have often agreed upon the failings of big screen adaptations, resulting in as many financial flops, as bad reviews.

In the eyes of many, the fighting genre has been particularly guilty of wasting time and money. Typically deviating wildly from the spirit of what made characters successful, fighting game films have contributed some of the most costly disappointments to DVD bargain bins. Infamous titles like; Tekken (2010), The King of Fighters (2009) and The Legend of Chun-Li (2009) have worked hard to earn the mutual ire of critics, fans and audiences alike, shedding dollars in the process. Indeed, as recent reference documents, time and experience has not improved the output of video game adaptations, at all.

Released theatrically in 1995, Mortal Kombat has managed to remain one of the most successful and best regarded movies of its type.

In 1995, Mortal Kombat was released to theatres worldwide, grossing a respectable $23 million dollars in it's opening weekend in the United States. An American launching pad for British director, Paul Anderson (Resident Evil, Event Horizon), the film was also a watershed moment for the licensing of video game properties in Hollywood, which to that point, had resulted in critical and financial failure in the box office.

The movie was the culmination of a licensing agreement between major players of the time, then MK-owners Midway Games, and production studio, Threshold Entertainment. The deal would go on to produce a film sequel; animated series, Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm; live-action television show, Mortal Kombat: Conquest; and interactive live-action web series, Federation of Martial Arts.

Netherrealm Studios has sent out flattened renders (artwork) from the original cyborg assassin tandem of Sektor and Cyrax for January 24's Mortal Monday weekly event!

In addition to being available on Blu-Ray and Netflix, as reported earlier, the Mortal Kombat movies are now available in the Apple iTunes store as well!

"We're thrilled to add this property to the iTunes lineup," said Eddy Cue, Apple's vice president of iTunes. "The Mortal Kombat films, while available for the iPod and AppleTV, have never looked better than they do on the iPad."

"Besides the movies, we have also made available the films' accompanying soundtracks, the two TV shows [MK: Conquest and MK: Defenders of the Realm], the straight-to-video release [MK: The Journey Begins], the online-exclusive fights [MK: Federation of Martial Arts], and for the first time ever on video - the Mortal Kombat Live Tour!" explains Martin Tremblay, president of Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. "We've also had some success on iTunes with digital comics books on some of our DC properties such as Superman: Red Son, and so we will be adding the Mortal Kombat comics later on in the year, as well."

To visit the iTunes store directly, click here. A big thanks go to Apple Insider for the word on this update!

Fans of Mortal Kombat: The Movie rejoice! In addition to the Canadian Blu-Ray release later this month, the video-by-mail giant Netflix is also making the movie available for its members as one of its "Watch Instantly" collection.

This is big news as more and more devices such as PS3, Xbox 360, Tivo Premiere, and even certain televisions are showing support for this feature.

In somewhat related news, Street Fighter: The Movie has also been made available for streaming as well. Coincidence, or a sign of grudging acceptance of video game movies in general?

Thanks again to samus_aran3900 for another News Lead!