Who Killed the Electric Car?

Starring: Martin Sheen (voice)
Directed: Chris Paine
Rating: PG
Genre: Documentary
2006

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Follows the rise and fall of the electric car- trying to figure out who is ultimately responsible for its death, and what this means for the environment.


Review:

Tim: Before I watched this film, I heard a great deal of praise for it- including that after watching it, it would make you angry at those responsible for the death of the electric car. While the film is interesting and informative, I felt strangely ambivalent after watching the movie. Yes, there are certain people responsible for the death of the electric car. However, the blame falls on many people, so it gets a bit diluted. Instead of feeling angry, I felt a bit disappointed, but felt no call to action. That is the biggest hole in this film. The best documentaries shock, inform, and cause you to want to get up off your couch and do something. This film informed, surprised, but didn't motivate.

The film works to be entertaining, and although there are entertaining moments, ultimately, the film takes too long to make its point. Thankfully, at 92 minutes, the film is quite short, but even still, drags in too many places.

Martin Sheen does a good job with the narration, and there's some good moments with several famous people- Mel Gibson, Tom Hanks, and others. While these serve to provide a few lighthearted moments, the overall impact isn't huge.

In the end, Who Killed the Electric Car? does most of what it sets out to do. It is another piece to this current environmental puzzle we're in. It makes its accusations, causes us to think about the environment and what ordinary people can do, and helps to inform its audience of how we got into this mess in the first place. It is not the best documentary out there, but it is worth seeing.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



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