SMERSH (James Bond) V (the letter) in "Icebreaker". They return in a larger role in "No Deals, Mr. Bond", renamed Department Eight, Directorate S, a KGB sub-section. In the film series, Bond's archenemy became SPECTRE, which first appeared in Fleming's novel "Thunderball" (1961). SPECTRE is introduced in the first film, "Dr. No" (1962), in which Julius No explains to Bond that it is the acronym for the "SPecial Executive for Counterintelligence, Terrorism, Revenge, and Extortion", the four great cornerstones of power. Film versions of novels where SMERSH appears substituted either SPECTRE or independent villains. Although twice referred to, SMERSH never appears in the
Spectre (2015 film) critical consensus reads, ""Spectre" nudges Daniel Craig's rebooted Bond closer to the glorious, action-driven spectacle of earlier entries, although it's admittedly reliant on established 007 formula." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 60 out of 100, based on 48 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale. Prior to its UK release, "Spectre" mostly received positive reviews. Mark Kermode, writing in "The Guardian", gave the film four out of five stars, observing that the film did not live up to