‘Cosmopolis’ director gives ‘Dark Knight Rises’ a bad review

Count out one fan of "The Dark Knight Rises." The indie filmmaker David Cronenberg slammed supporters of the movie who call the blockbuster art, saying," I don't think they know what the f--k they're talking about."

The director was speaking to MTV to promote his new film, "Cosmopolis," starring "Twilight" heartthrob Robert Pattinson as a young billionaire whose rarefied world unravels in just one day.

[SLIDESHOW: 'Cosmopolis' New York City premiere]

Cronenberg's scathing words were picked up by the Hollywood Reporter and have been catching buzz.

In the interview, the filmmaker, who did direct a movie based on a graphic novel, "A History of Violence," elaborated on his opinion of the caped crusader.

"I don't think they are making them an elevated art form. I think it's still Batman running around in a stupid cape. I just don't think it's elevated. (Director) Christopher Nolan's best movie is 'Memento,' and that is an interesting movie. I don't think his Batman movies are half as interesting though they're 20 million times the expense."

[Related: Robert Pattinson set to play Lawrence of Arabia]

Tiffs over movie content aren't new, of course. Spike Lee famously called out Quentin Tarantino ("Pulp Fiction" and the upcoming "Django Unchained") for using the N-word too much in his movies and wanting to be "an honorary black man."

For his part, Cronenberg did acknowledge that he respected Nolan's mastery of IMAX technology, calling it "really tricky and difficult to do." But he added that the movie was "boring." "A superhero movie, by definition, you know, it's comic book. It's for kids. It's adolescent in its core."

But perhaps the director would be fine channeling his inner adolescent. He admitted, "As an actor, I would play Batman."

Watch the trailer for 'Cosmopolis':