Who Killed the Electric Car?

Who Killed the Electric Car? **1/2

"Who Killed the Electric Car?" is directed by Chris Paine. He is a first time documentarian, and this film shows it. I would also consider renaming it "An Inconvient Truth Companion," as both films really do touch upon the same subject, concerning the environment. Al Gore would love this film.

Al Gore's film was about the dangers of global warming, and the effect that it could have on everyone's daily life. Paine's film is about a way that we can help: electric cars. That is the answer. They are faster, quieter, and they run on electricity as opposed to gas, making them better for the environment. Instead of pulling into gas stations whenever they need fuel, the driver only needs to plug the car in. They go home, plug it in, wake up, unplug it, and go to work. It's that simple, and it doesn't hurt anyone. The car does have it's limitations, but in the end it's a better ride. And that was the kind of car that was made with the invention of the car known as the EV1. And many of them were made, and many of them drove it. The car came about because of a law. In California, the most polluted state in the country, it was declared that the problem is air exhaust. So, a law was made by the California Air Resource Board that requires that 2% of every new vechicle made in the state must be emission free. As time edged closer to 2003, the number would have to jump to 10%. But, manye people had no problem with the car at all. Even celebrities started to endorse it. Tom Hanks talked about the car on the David Letterman show. Interviews with Mel Gibson(who seems like one crazy person as seen from the interviews) show that he enjoyed the car. But then, in the beginning of the new century, the electric cars were taken away. They were all recalled, and they had to be taken off the streets, and brought to gated areas, where they would be crushed, and recycled. And all the power stations that were around California are useless, and just stay there. And how did this happen? Who, or what, killed the electric car?

And thats when the film disappears from the facts, and begins to drift towards the groups that could be responsible. Talking to the consumer, the government, the engineers, and the mechanics, it becomes clear that the death of the electric car wasn't just the work of one person, it involved many. Each group cut the car until the car bled to death. Now, "Who Killed the Electric Car?" again poses the moral question, much like in the Al Gore global warming documentary. We have a responsibilty to help this environment, and without cars that don't only run on gas, there could be a problem. And then the moral issue goes beyond the environment, and onto the fact that American is addicted to oil. No, the WORLD is addicted to oil. The way I see it, electric cars were good for the country, and they weren't harming anyone at all. They are gone because some groups couldn't handle them. They saw them as a threat. There should be no reason why the people that want to drive electric cars can't drive them. But, it's just more examples on why the country is doomed.

Morals and ethics aside, it's important to grade this as a film. As a documentary, it's not the greatest thing in the world. It's very by the book. There is nothing groundbreaking here. It is a cookie cut version of facts, presented to you. Now, it's interesting because some of the facts are things I've never heard before, but at times it could get tedious. I think it could have been more stylish and interesting if they really played out the death of the electric car in a murder mystery fashion. Kind of like a "Whodunit" on the technology. But it's an interesting watch, but maybe not on the big screen. Something like this doesn't need to be seen in a theatre, on the big screen. It is an interesting double feature. Along with "An Inconvienent Truth," these are two films that are really telling us to "Wake up" before it's too late. We have the power to change things, and we are squandering this power around for the promise of money. But over time, they will see, that you can only go so far with money, especially when you have no actual life.