Revenge Of The Electric Car

This is the follow up to director Chris Paine’s 2006 documentary, Who Killed The Electric Car?, which showed how General Motors built prototype EV-1 electric cars - loved by drivers but which were ultimately recalled and destroyed by the company.

Paine takes his film crew behind the closed doors of Nissan, GM, the Silicon Valley start-up Tesla Motors, and an independent car converter named Greg “Gadget” Abbott to investigate the resurgence of electric cars.

The film follows the race to be the first, the best, and to win the people over. The filmmaker explores the development of the electric car from a concept into a working product as the car makers struggle with the economy, the press, each other, and the car buying public.

An optimistic look at what was regarded by many as a dead technology due to high prices and limited interest from car buyers. Paine has picked an interesting set of people, who all have different agendas, with personalities to match. The documentary is never dull due to the excellent pacing and editing.

Although the use of celebrity interviews seems somewhat out of place. Paine seems to be more interested with famous people’s options rather than the average Joe on the street. It feels very much like a marketing ploy for the trailer rather than adding anything interesting to the conversation.

Whether audiences will agree with the filmmaker’s view, no one can deny that Paine has made another captivating and interesting film about this remarkable vehicle which has been brought back from the dead.