70
Metascore
28 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 80TimeRichard CorlissTimeRichard CorlissChris Paine's documentary makes an unapologetic case for the car and an unofficial indictment of the forces allied against it.
- 80The New York TimesManohla DargisThe New York TimesManohla DargisA murder mystery, a call to arms and an effective inducement to rage, Who Killed the Electric Car? is the latest and one of the more successful additions to the growing ranks of issue-oriented documentaries.
- 80The Hollywood ReporterMichael RechtshaffenThe Hollywood ReporterMichael RechtshaffenA potent hybrid of passion and politics fuel this energetic and highly compelling documentary.
- 75The A.V. ClubNathan RabinThe A.V. ClubNathan RabinAbove all, the film is an extended love letter to the EV1, a sleek GM electric marvel that, by Paine's reckoning, marks the single greatest innovation in human technology since the wheel.
- 75New York PostV.A. MusettoNew York PostV.A. MusettoPaine doesn't hide his liberal mind-set, but he lets all sides - from GM suits to Ralph Nader - have their say. By the closing credits, there's little doubt who killed the electric car.
- 75PremierePremiereBy the end of the film, you actually come to mourn the passing of the EV1, a well-intentioned soul that was in the right place at the right time, but was surrounded by the wrong people.
- 70Film ThreatPete Vonder HaarFilm ThreatPete Vonder HaarSo who did kill the electric car? There are many suspects, and as it turns out, most of them are guilty.
- 70VarietyRobert KoehlerVarietyRobert KoehlerOil companies aren't the only ones profiting from a spike in prices at the gas pump. It's likely also to boost the prospects of Who Killed the Electric Car? a likable if partisan post-mortem on the now-defunct auto.
- 70L.A. WeeklyL.A. WeeklyIt's a laudably complicated, if emotional and a little comic-book goofy, story of how a confluence of forces - industry skepticism, trained-seal lobbyists and, last but not least, consumer reluctance - undermined the future of a quiet little bean of mobile metal that the anointed few who could afford to lease it passionately adored.
- 63TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonaghTV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonaghImpassioned, unwieldy and padded with celebrity interviews.