All right, we’re throwing Rhona Mitra’s name around regarding Beowulf (1999) because apparently now Twitter just cannot stop thinking about it. A set of rare stills from the movie in a tweet somehow entered the Twitter sphere, and the whole internet went mad. And honestly? Me too.
For those not remembering or very probably unaware: Beowulf was that crazy sci-fi re-imagining of the Old English epic. It starred Christopher Lambert (yes, Highlander himself) and Rhona Mitra, completely stealing the show as Kyra. The movie? Bonkers. The visuals? A gaseous nightmare. The one and only Rhona? An emphatic Icon.
The tweet shared just one picture of Mitra from the movie, and the reply section erupted in nostalgia, thirst, and bewilderment. One user FiveFreds wrote: “I remember 1999. The lil lady was a beowolf… Made me sit next to the hole and howl.” I couldn’t agree more. Another one, SoSueMe950567, joked, “You need to put on Solar Eclipse glasses to look at that smokin magic…” And really, that’s spot on.
Debates opened up on whether she was hotter in Beowulf or Underworld. Hail The Lore tweeted, “When I saw her in Underworld, I lost my shit,” with CinemaVigilante replying, “Mouth watering.” Accurate.
This gave rise to some serious discussion about her being the original model for Lara Croft in Tomb Raider (which is true), while others were just confused at her relative Hollywood-blackout status. SithFrogKermit outright asked, “Whatever happened to her?” Good question, Kermit. Good question.
And then there come the inevitable comparisons. GarbageInsight threw back, “I’ll see your Rhona and raise you an Olga,” dropping a pic of Olga Kurylenko as though it were a poker bluff. Meanwhile, cardcreator5001 insisted, “Sorry that’s Neve Campbell and you can’t convince me otherwise,” linking a pic of the Scream queen. So beautiful.
But really, in essence, it means that either people remember the movie or at least Rhona Mitra in it. Nostalgia, some weird appreciation for early CGI, or perhaps simply because she was-and still is-arguably beautiful. An impression of Beowulf (1999) is surely etched in collective consciousness.
So, if you haven’t seen it…perhaps try? Or just Google Rhona Mitra’s scenes. Either way, it’s a wild ride. If you’ve seen it, congratulations to the very few remaining people on the planet who are still mortified by late ’90s sci-fi fever dreams.
