They have been done over and over for a reason. They work.
This. Everything has been done before - just make sure you do it in your own, unique voice, and try to put a fresh take on things. If it's well written, it doesn't matter that structurally it's been done before.
For what it's worth, your scenario reminded me of Superman 2; General Zod and his cronies being inadvertently "released" from jail by Supes