It is 25 years since civil unrest convulsed LA in the wake of the acquittal of the four police officers who were caught on camera brutalising black motorist Rodney King – and no less than five documentaries are being released to coincide with the anniversary.

LA 92 looks to distinguish itself from the pack with a daring conceit: it comprises nothing but archival news, police and home-video footage of events. It is a fitting way of telling the story: from King’s beating, captured on camcorder by a member of the public, to the scenes of looting, violence and disorder that followed, this was an occasion defined by video footage. Shorn of narration and talking-head commentary, the images speak grimly and potently for themselves: the helicopter shots of the horrifying attack on Reginald Denny, a trucker who found himself in entirely the wrong place at entirely the wrong time; the thick pall of smoke hanging over looted and burnt out buildings; the many protester placards bearing the still relevant slogan “No justice, no peace”.

Yet LA 92’s reliance on news and eyewitness footage leaves it vulnerable to the same limitations as that footage – namely the prioritising of sensationalism over insight. At times, the film resembles little more than a highlights reel of the riots’ most graphic moments, and the knotty question of whether violent protest is ever justified is almost entirely sidestepped. Arresting, certainly, but also something of a missed opportunity.