He's unlikable from the very first scene when he's seen snipping the fence and then attacking the security guard and stealing his watch. He's an extreme sociopath who manipulates weak people, preys on their vulnerabilities, thinks only of himself, lies, has no capacity for empathy, always chooses material gain and ego satisfaction over doing anything decent or helpful, physically harms people -- and allows them to be killed -- to get ahead, he rearranges severely injured people (or possibly dead bodies) to get better video. He's calculatingly and methodically bad to the bone. Any "good" qualities that anyone might find -- or rather his *capabilities* like being a quick leaner, being opportunistic, and a fairly decent driver ;) and a decent cameraman -- are all used for his own benefit. He's a predator. Hes a creepy cheat with crazy eyes, but he's very interesting to watch.
And he also gets the footage that TV news wants, so he gets PAID, yo. "If it bleeds, it leads." That mantra still plays true all over the news industry. News consumers want salacious crime, gore (and sex and gossip-level crap) to entertain them. As someone here mentioned, Rene Russo's character telling her team "we could all learn something from Lou" should make the viewer shake their head and weep for humanity. Lou has found an addict for his sociopathic talents, and she programs the news, BRO.
Lou is never likable. He's not supposed to be -- and that's fine for what this movie is about.
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