I feel like I’ve seen this movie before… hardscrabble New Englanders trying to get out of dodge (set to an AC/DC anthem), and finding comfort in a good, solid woman with a tramp stamp. Based on the true story of brothers Micky (Mark Wahlberg) and Dicky Ward (Christian Bale), two boxers from an Irish-as-a-way-of-life family in working-class Lowell, Mass., The Fighter is only a welterweight as far as sports movies go. It doesn’t have the emotional punch-to-the-gut of last year’s The Wrestler or the crunch of Rocky ‘s fight scenes. But it does have several actors who are so convincing, so Method, you can forgive the story’s predictability.

Expect Oscar talk to follow Bale, who drops more weight than a high school wrestler to shrink into Dicky—a former boxer who knocked down Sugar Ray Leonard in 1978, but can only make it down the street to the crackhouse these days. Bale is a skeleton of himself; it’s enough to make anyone stay off smack, crack, dope, superstrong coffee, whatever. He plays a crackhead better than a crackhead.

Though his transformation is mesmerizing, Mark Wahlberg’s man-child of a younger brother, Micky, is also Oscar-worthy. As Dicky succumbs to the siren song of the crack pipe, Micky’s left to face reality: a gaggle of trashy, meddling sisters; a domineering mother (the outstanding Melissa Leo); a brother/trainer who does more harm than good; and a debilitating lack of confidence despite rock-hard abs. Will he ever be as good a boxer as Dicky? Will he win the title fight? You already know the answer to that. But Wahlberg makes you care. With the help of fight footage styled to look like ESPN bouts from the 1980s-’90s, Wahlberg is Micky. He nails each scene in the ring (thanks to rigorous training), already has the flawless Boston accent, and manages actual chemistry with the Girl Who Will Save Him, future wife Charlene (Amy Adams). And let it be said that when given meatier roles, Adams is a damn fine actress.

Hold out for the credits at the end—the real Micky and Dicky make an appearance, which helps reinforce how well Marky Mark and Bale managed to become the Pride of Lowell.

The Fighter is in theaters Dec 17.