By Joe Baltake
Daily News Movie Reviewer

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Empire Strikes Back. Produced by George Lucas. Directed by Irvin Kershner. Rating: PG. Running Time: 120 minutes. At the SamEric.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nobody can accuse me of moderation. And I tend to be especially impatient with those films which seem perfectly fine, but which, upon closer scrutiny, have any number of flaws and imperfections.

The Empire Strikes Back, for example -- the long-awaited follow-up to the most popular film in movie history, George Lucas' Star Wars -- is as glossy, expensive and fun as its predecessor. It is filled with audience- pleasing ingredients, not the least of which is intelligence, and each of these elements has been executed with tender loving care.

It's a quality film in every sense, fairly dripping with sincerity, entertainment value and good taste. Class all the way.

But there are a few imperfections. And while many will probably pass unseen by the average viewer, they leave the film slightly unbalanced -- and leave me feeling grumpy.

The problem with The Empire Strikes Back is that, in the tradition of follow-up films, its makers have given in to the temptation to linger on those elements which proved popular the first time out and to ignore those which had less impact.

This film gets down to the business of action. There's no doubt that fans of the space-fantasy genre will be pleased: There are more gadgets, new creatures, special effects, action and adventure here than there were in the original Star Wars.

What's missing, however, is the first film's sense of community, civilization and family life. Except for a hint of romance between the characters of Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) and Han Solo (Harrison Ford), The Empire Strikes Back doesn't bother to expand on the first film -- and there's no sense of humanity here, only hardware.

While Star Wars took time to explore young Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), his relationships and his galaxy's society, The Empire Strikes Back dwells on gunfire, showdowns, chases and intergalactic shoot-'em-ups.

True, the first also had its share of comic-book noise and confusion, but it alternated these ingredients with scenes which conveyed lifestyle. I'm thinking specifically of the wonderful bar sequence (with its jivey music and strange denizens) and the early scenes on the moisture farm run by Luke's Uncle Owen. We saw people at work and at play, not simply zooming around in space with laser gun in one hand and some remote control in the other.

Some moviegoers might not consciously miss these homey elements, but they were in large part responsible for the first film's success. The original Star Wars was not just another souped-up space flick. It had heart and heritage -- unexpected substance. I expected more of the same substance, plus a deepening of the relationships.

But The Empire Strikes Back is less a human drama, more a space fantasy. This is particulary evident in its plotting. While Star Wars was an entity unto itself -- a movie with a beginning, a middle and an end -- The Empire Strikes Back is an elongated chapter, an episode in a series.

Its full title, in fact, is Star Wars -- Episode Five: The Empire Strikes Back. Chapter five? Yes, it turns out that it is the fifth in a series of nine fully planned chapters -- and producer Lucas plans to film the entire series. The first film is actually the fourth episode and, upon its re- release (some time next year), will be retitled Star Wars -- Episode Four: The New Hope.

(Next: Episode Six, after which Lucas will put the first three chapters into production. Will audiences be willing to wait another three years between chapters?)

So, The Empire Strikes Back is no strict sequel, but a genuine cliffhanger, open-ended and with storyline holes certain to be covered in future episodes. While it lacks the shading of the Star Wars, it takes the kind of risks -- some of which seem pretty drastic -- that the first film avoided. Now, this I find exciting.

It's also unpredictable, even though its basic plot does exactly what we expect: The villainous Darth Vadar is still out for revenge, Luke is still in quest of the Force's secret, and Han and Leia are still indulging the sexual tension that they've built up. But toward the end, disconcerting plot twists pop up, along with intriguing new creatures.

We're left guessing about Luke's past and Han's future; we get to meet Yoda (an amazing character manipulated and spoken by Frank Oz, of " Miss Piggy" fame), the all-wise teacher of the Jedi knights; we're overwhelmed by the ominous Imperial Walkers, the robot monsters, and the Tauntaum, a camel-like creature as large as a Tyranosaurus Rex, and we travel from Hoth, the ice planet, to Dogabah, the swamp planet, to Bespin, the cloud city.

The entire original cast returns, with Hamill solid as usual and with Fisher and Ford behaving as if they're genuine folk heroes and turning in particularly precious, grating and self-conscious performances. Should the likes of Fisher and Ford be taking all of this so seriously?

More intense and violent than its predecessor.