Having read the book almost fifty years ago while still a teenager I think the year 2016 is perfect for it. The stage seems to be set for the real life version to take place in 2016 if not sooner barring a sudden awakening of the brain dead. As for the trains they may very well be the only transportation we have in 2016 if the current madness continues.
The main thing I remember from my reading of the novel is that those who spouted absurd nonsense had taken control of the government and all else along with it while those who still conversed in the terms of sanity were ostracized, condemned, called evil or not intelligent enough to understand life. Is this not exactly what I see going on today? Even Fox news is beginning to seem like a cartoon show. We have installed a complete loser with an unknown past in the presidency, he spouts random absurdities even as the leprechaun on the “right wing” news channel defends him and we are still asked to imagine that he is super intelligent even after he has demonstrated time and again that he is anything but. Maybe the movie should have been set in 2012 rather than 2016.
I think they should have set it farther out, say 2030. They’ve kind of limited its lifespan. That said my girlfriend and I saw it in Fairfax VA yesterday. They had it in the larger theater, only 40% full. We loved it and now have to read the book. Looking forward to part 2.
Hehe, well it’s said huxley wanted to call his novel “1948” but the publisher balked.