It was only a few years back that the idea of a mass market electric car was considered dead and Chris Paine, the director who documented the downfall of the EV car with the film Who Killed The Electric Car, is back with a refreshing change in direction in his new documentary with Revenge of The Electric Car.   The film opens with a surprising sense of optimism as it outlines the positive developments in electric car design and manufacturing that have taken place since his previous film and it manages to provide some fascinating developments, thanks to the remarkable access, as the camera takes us behind the scenes at the major car companies.

The film is thoroughly entertaining and its production value matches its rich and interesting content as it presents a vast amount of information following the ups and downs of both the car industry as well as the lives of the characters it follows such as: Nissan’s CEO Carlos Ghosn, GM vice chairman Bob Lutz, and the upstart entrepreneur Elon Musk who co-founded the all-electric Tesla Motors after selling PayPal.  At times the information feels biased but a handful of journalists, bloggers, and experts offer opinions, giving balance to the unstoppable optimism of the corporate perspectives and the story concludes with the modern day presentation of a handful of very sleek and ambitious EV cars.  The film illustrates how far the new generation of fully electric cars has come and after one look at the recent gas prices and Middle East conflicts, it’s likely to be a realistic presence in the future.