In its opening 30 minutes, Who Killed the Electric Car? is a disorganized information dump, failing to connect the various factors that may have helped remove this green mode of transportation from the American roadways. Characters are introduced without a clear sense of their role in the grand scheme, and factoids are put forth without the background needed to place them in context. But the documentary gains its footing as it goes along, and starts to sing when it switches up the narrative structure to mirror an actual criminal investigation. Director Chris Paine lists more than a half-dozen potential "suspects," ranging from various government branches to the automobile industry to the life of the cars' batteries, then considers the evidence that either implicates or absolves them in the metaphorical murder. This is Paine's apparent nod to impartial journalism, even if his conclusions mostly confirm the liberal bias he clearly brought with him to the project. Regardless of the perspective a viewer brings, certain indelible images are sure to penetrate, most notably the repossession of leased vehicles from satisfied customers (none were allowed to purchase their cars), followed swiftly by the demolition of those vehicles. De-commissioning them for further research and development would have been one thing, but sending them to be flattened into pancakes is quite another, qualifying as circumstantial proof of the politics and systematic intimidation at play here. Paine has also collected a good group of celebrities to add star power to his message, though Ed Begley Jr., often considered the poster child for electric cars, is conspicuous by his near absence from the film. One celebrity who doesn't necessarily help Paine's cause is Martin Sheen, whose narration is too polished, sounding too much like insubstantial advertising voice-over to be as effective as it could have been.