Revenge of the Electric Car (2011)

Director Chris Paine takes his film crew behind the closed doors of Nissan, GM, and the Silicon Valley start-up Tesla Motors to chronicle the story of the global resurgence of electric cars.

Director:

Chris Paine

Writers:

P.G. Morgan, Chris Paine

Stars:

Tim Robbins, Dan Neil, Danny DeVito

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tim Robbins	...	Himself - Narrator
Dan Neil	...	Himself - Columnist, Wall Street Journal
Danny DeVito	...	Himself - EV1 Driver
Ray Wert	...	Himself - Editor, Jalopnik
Stephen Colbert	...	Himself
Gavin Newsom	...	Himself - Lieutenant Governor, California
Thomas Friedman	...	Himself - Columnist, New York Times
Bob Lutz	...	Himself - Vice Chairman, GM
Evelyn Chiang	...	Herself - VP, Tesla Motors
Elon Musk	...	Himself - CEO, Tesla Motors
Troy Nergaard	...	Himself - Tesla Engineer
J.B. Straubel	...	Himself - Chief Technical Engineer
Owen Thomas	...	Himself - Editor, Valleywag
Anthony Kiedis	...	Himself - Musician
Jon Favreau	...	Himself - Director, Iron Man

Storyline

Revenge of the Electric Car presents the recent resurgence of electric vehicles as seen through the eyes of four pioneers of the EV revolution. Director Chris Paine (Who Killed the Electric Car? 2006) has had unprecedented access to the electric car research and development programs at General Motors, Nissan, and Tesla Motors, while also following a part time electric car converter who refuses to wait for the international car makers to create the electric cars the public demands. As more models of electric cars than ever before start to arrive in showrooms and driveways across the world, Chris Paine's film offers an inspiring, entertaining and definitive account of this revolutionary moment in human transportation. Revenge of the Electric Car follows these auto makers as they race each other to create the first, best, and most publicly accepted electric cars for the new car market.

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Plot Keywords:

electric vehicles | alternative energy | electric car | green energy

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Genres:

Documentary

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for brief strong language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 July 2012 (Ireland)

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$17,482 (USA) (21 October 2011)

Gross:

$150,307 (USA) (16 December 2011)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Papercut Films, WestMidWest Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Connections

Follows Who Killed the Electric Car? (2006)

User Reviews

Outstanding comparative business survey of automotive business

Many reviewers seem to miss the point of this documentary, which is to document the varied approach businesses are taking to react to the new technology of the electric car. The comparisons captured between the Nissan approach versus the GM approach versus the Tesla approach are very revealing of the strengths and shortcomings of these different companies. Even Netflix gets it wrong when they categorize this movie as a Political documentary, when it is actually a Business documentary.

This movie is an instant classic for business school audiences in particular, and yet is still entertaining and engaging enough for very general audiences. Without spoiling, one scene that is particularly revealing is when two competitor's see a third's production product at an auto show, and seem unable or unwilling to understand the threat to their respective businesses.

Stunning access to a thrilling competition for a new technology in which the stakes could not be higher. Every MBA class in the world should see this movie as a precondition to graduate. 9 stars plus.