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If I were to compare Iron Man to other recent movies, it would have to be Transformers meets Batman Begins. Like last year's Decepticon filled summer hit, Iron Man is full of big explosions, cool technology, and impending destruction. It is a blockbuster with a serious popcorn vibe. And it definitely has an action figure franchise going for it.

But where Transformers is about the surfacing of a legend, Iron Man is about the birth of an entirely new superhero. Unlike Clark Kent or the Autobots, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is not born with superpowers. The origin of his new power comes from none other than the destructiveness of the power that has defined his life up to the point at which the movie begins. And like Bruce Wayne, Tony Stark's transformation from indifferent billionaire into weapon of freedom comes from not only seeing the complex nature of evil for what it is, but by also recognizing his ability to do something about it and making the decision to step up to the task.

If you're not familiar with the story of Iron Man, the basics go something like this—Tony Stark is the billionaire head of Stark Industries, the leading weapons manufacturer in the world. Soon after he completes development of his ultimate weapon, The Jericho, Stark is kidnapped by insurgents and ordered to make them their own. Instead, he makes an iron suit in which he escapes and returns to his company a new man. And of course there's also the tiny little detail that the weapons the insurgents were using were his; when he was captured, the Stark Industries shrapnel that had pierced his body should have killed him, and when he gets away, the only thing keeping him alive is the power-core in the middle of his chest that has replaced his failing heart.

And from there begins a story of man who realizes that he has much more to offer the world than what he has been giving, who recognizes a greater purpose for his life, and who uses what he has to make that happen. As Stark says at a press conference immediately following his return, "I've come to realize that I have more to offer this world than just making things that blow up." To the chagrin of almost everybody at Stark Industries and in National Defense, he proclaims that Stark Industries will no longer make weapons. And instead, he sets to work building an armored suit a bit more sophisticated than the one he built in his desert cave.

But as much as Stark believes that his new direction is far superior to his previous one, not everyone agrees with him. While Stark wants to use his creation to better combat evil and protect freedom, there are those who simply want to use it to amass more power for themselves. Although he sees a more responsible use of weaponry as the key to hope, others just want the security of knowing that the United States has the biggest bombs and most destructive missiles around. And even though Stark begins saving lives before he has even given his new suit a full test drive (with him literally inside the very weapon he has designed to seek out evil and protect those it enslaves), there are also those who question whether it is actually something worth risking his life for.

For Stark however, there is no question. As he sees it, he should be dead already. If it weren't for the sacrifice of a friend who saw a greater purpose in him being able to live, Stark would have died within days of his capture. And if it weren't for the greater power than his own that now beats inside of his chest, his life would be no more.

"I shouldn't be alive unless it was for a reason," he tells Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), his loyal assistant. "I'm not crazy. I just finally know what I need to do and I know in my heart that it's right."

And I don't know about you, but it is the truth in that statement that makes the story of Iron Man one that I can identify with. At its core, Iron Man is a movie about the value of the individual life. It is a story about what a miracle it is to be alive. And it is reminder that it is up to us what we will do with that gift of life we have been given.

I have to say that some days life does not feel like a gift at all. Sometimes it can feel like a curse. Other times, it can begin to look like a product of my own inherent brilliance. But if I'm honest with myself and take even a minute to truly look at the life I am living, I can't deny that it is a miracle. That I was born three months early and have no apparent problems because of it is nothing short of amazing. That I fought suicidal thoughts almost every day of my early twenties and managed to stay alive is almost unbelievable. But the most amazing thing about the gift of life that we have been given is that it is designed to last forever.

As Stark would put it, the power that brought me to life, that I know has kept me from death more times than I can count, and that loves me enough to replace my flawed heart with its renewal time and time again is like a weapon you fire once and never have to fire again. By dying on the cross for me, God made a statement not of the extreme force of his destructive power but of the extreme truth of his amazing love. Through his death, he proved that my life was worth his sacrifice. And in his resurrection, he told me that the plans and purposes for my life are nothing short of miraculous.

As Stark's fellow captive Yinsen (Shaun Toub) helps Stark to see, his life is much bigger than just himself. It is affecting people all over the world already. It will leave a legacy that will affect the world for years to come. Even though we may sometimes wonder what we are living for and what in the world we can possibly do with the limited time and abilities we have, the truth remains that each and every one of our lives were given to us to make a difference. And as Yinsen so eloquently puts it, even if that life is only one week, then that week is just all the more important.