In the annals of cinema there are those that are remembered for one particular role and then there are those that are remembered for being one of the best actors that ever existed. Alan Rickman might not be THE endall of actors but he was certainly a man that many people either loved to hate in a particular role or found entirely endearing. He played in a large number of movies as a character that was generally refined and didn’t pander very easily to fools or sycophants, as this was one of his specialties. But he also played characters that had massive amounts of depth and weren’t quite as they seemed from the start, giving the audience a good show as some of his characters underwent a very interesting transition throughout the movie. It was a said day in 2016 when he passed away, as the world lost a great actor and a good man.
Here are some of the best movies from his career.
5. Galaxy Quest
You might have a funny look on your face right now while reading this because quite honestly Galaxy Quest was one of the biggest spoofs of Star Trek that’s been seen in a long while. But given that knowledge it becomes so much easier to see the movie for what it is, not what it might be otherwise if that knowledge wasn’t applied. As Dr. Lazarus, Rickman was kind of an arrogant individual that had grown tired of the TV show he and the others starred on and wanted to be known for much more. But when they got to live the real-life adventure he realized just how important his character had become to others, and finally came to appreciate it.
4. Dogma
Once again you might be looking at this article funny and about ready to click away, but hear me out. This movie was in fact something kind of goofy and twisted when it came to the religious aspects but it was also a bit of good fun that pulled in a lot of great actors and some mediocre ones for a good bit of sport. As the Metatron, the voice of God in this movie, he’s one of the non-combatants that won’t or can’t move against the two rogue angels causing so much trouble, but he does set things in motion that will allow the problem to be solved. The only drawback is that the people he gathers are less than impressive when it comes to their qualifications.
3. Alice in Wonderland
If you’re wondering just where his contribution is noted in this movie then look no further than Absolem, the blue caterpillar that questions Alice incessantly and seems to make not a lick of sense that she can figure out. Among all the characters in the story he’s one of the few that actually does have answers, but gives them in a very roundabout and frustrating manner. Like the other characters however Absolem does remember Alice and he is kind of vexed by the fact that she doesn’t recall anything from her previous trip. When you’re convinced it was all a dream however it’s kind of hard to take such memories seriously.
2. Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 2
Throughout the entire Harry Potter series Snape is looked at with suspicion a lot of times even when he’s proven to be an ally. During the taking of Hogwarts and the death of Dumbledore however it’s shown that he is in fact a plant of Voldemort’s. However, the final leg of the story shows that after having been caught by Dumbledore he was turned into a double agent that was assigned one of the hardest tasks in the world, to do as he was bade by the dark lord despite not being a part of his army any longer. Snape’s love for Lily Potter was possibly the only thing that kept him in check for so long, and likely the only thing that allowed him to be redeemed.
1. Die Hard
The debate over whether Die Hard is a Christmas movie or not should have been settled a while back but there are still a few dissenters. Thankfully there’s no debate over just how bad of a person Hans Gruber is since he makes no bones about what he wants or what he’s doing to do to get it. He blows one guys head off when he won’t give him the access codes, and then kills another guy when he tries to negotiate with McClane in a foolish and ill-advised manner. Hans is the kind of guy that would likely kill a whole lot of people simply because it was convenient and would move him further towards his goal. But one fun fact about this movie is that Alan had a severe fear of heights, and the falling scene he performed was absolutely terrifying for him.
He’s missed, there’s no doubt.
