In that fabled scene, the Statue was a haunting remnant of human civilization. At one point, after our zombie-killer heist squad has entered the trashed streets of Vegas, we see the wrecked but still standing Statue of Liberty, an image it’s hard not to notice without flashing back to the ending of “Planet of the Apes,” a moment that singlehandedly launched the genre of cinematic dystopia. The film’s limitation - you knew there was a catch coming - is that as solid a chunk of oversize diversion as “Army of the Dead” is, most of it still has a kind of second-hand quality. A viewer might be tempted to ask: What’s not to like? It’s two hours and 28 minutes of packed-to-the-gills video-game-meets-21st-century-Western-meets-day-of-the-living-dead fun, all staged by Snyder with a jaunty spirit of gung-ho classicism. It’s got a spectacular climax featuring a dropped nuclear bomb. It’s got a gifted cast of diverse actors playing plucky renegades. It’s set in Las Vegas (albeit it the bombed-out dystopian ruins of Vegas). It’s a sentimental father-daughter reconciliation story. If you go to see just one movie this year, Zack Snyder’s “ Army of the Dead” might be the ticket - not because it’s the best movie you’ll see in 2021 (or maybe even this week), but because it’s a stylishly grandiose, muscular but conventional popcorn pageant that’s got something for just about everyone.

Zombie casino movie